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Its S€iection,Cam 

and Use 

HAROLD-WHITINGSMUSON 





Class _^ilI3l5 
Book c) G 
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COPYRIGHT DEPOSm 



THE MOTOR BOAT 



THE MOTOR BOAT 

ITS SELECTION, CARE AND USE 
BY 

HAROLD WHITING SLAUSON 

(LAWRENCE LA RUE) 



HANDBCJDKS 




NEW YORK 

OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY 

MCMXI 



4 



Copyright, 1910, By 
OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY 



Entered at Stationer's Hall, London, England. 
All rights reserved 



CopyRiGHT, 1911, By 
OUTING PUBLISHING COMPANY. 



Entered at Stationer's Hall, London, England. 
All rights reserred 



©C(.A303055 

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CONTENTS 

CHAPTER PAGE 

I. Kinds and Uses op Motor Boats . . 7 

II. When the Motor Balks .... 80 

III. Speeding up the Motor Boat . . 47 

IV. Getting more Power from a new 

Motor 62 

V. How TO install a Marine Power 

Plant ......... 81 

VI. Accessories 110 

VII. Covers, Canopies, and Tops . . . 135 

VIII. Camping and Cruising 151 

IX. The Boathouse ....... 172 

Glossary 197 



CHAPTER I 

KINDS AND USES OF MOTOR BOATS 

THE cheapest and simplest form of motor 
boat is the converted skiff. A substantial 
rowboat of the St. Lawrence model may 
be bought for from twenty to forty dollars, and 
for the expenditure of another forty or fifty a 
one or two horsepower motor may be obtained 
and installed — thus making a craft which should 
be able to carry three or four persons at a pace 
much faster than that of rowing and with much 
less exertion — unless the motor should prove to 
be balky. The best results will probably be ob- 
tained by something near a two horsepower 
motor in a boat of this type, as any power in ex- 
cess of that would set up such a vibration in the 
hull that a ride in such a craft would be far from 
pleasurable. 

Akin to the motor skiff, and yet of lighter 
weight and consequently of greater speed for the 
same power, is the ordinary canoe, strengthened 
and braced for the installation of the engine. 
The limit of speed in a motor boat of this kind 

7 



8 THE MOTOR BOAT 

will be about fourteen miles per hour, no matter 
how much power may be installed, but comforta- 
ble riding cannot be obtained with more than 
one horsepower, and a consequent speed reduc- 
tion to about eight miles per hour. Motor canoes 
are made by some manufacturers with the engine 
already installed; these are found exceedingly 
useful in sections where portaging may be neces- 
sary, for the entire outfit will weigh less than one 
hundred and fifty pounds. 

A " ready-made " motor boat with the engine 
installed and ready to run can be bought for 
less than one hundred dollars. While it is sub- 
ject to the troubles to which the average motor 
craft is heir, the entire outfit is a remarkably 
simple little affair, and when owned and operated 
by a man who exercises common sense, it should 
furnish little cause for annoyance. Such a boat 
will probably be about fourteen feet long with the 
motor located in the stern and an arrangement 
for steering within easy reach of the engineer. 

A couple of cross seats forward furnish ac- 
commodations for two or three passengers, while 
space is supplied for tools, camping utensils, oil- 
skins, and the like under the seats. With a few 
gallons of gasoline in the tank, strong batteries 
for the motor, and a sufficient knowledge of the 
waterway to keep away from the rocks and shoals, 



USES OF MOTOR BOATS 9 

an entire day may be spent on the water and 
many miles covered with no probability of a mis- 
hap or trouble of any kind with the engine. 

Boats of this style are manufactured with the 
ordinary wooden hull, or with a hull of steel, 
according to the type purchased. The former 
are too well known to require comment here, but 
the latter, too, are becoming exceedingly popular 
with the man who desires a craft in which he can 
go almost anywhere and which is practically inde- 
structible. These hulls, being made of pressed 
steel, are exceedingly difficult to puncture, and 
should a solid obstacle be encountered, a dent, 
which could probably be hammered out easily, 
will perhaps be the only damage incurred. As 
an additional safeguard, however, most of these 
steel hulls are equipped with air-tight steel tanks 
fore and aft which will serve to keep the boat 
afloat, even though a hole should be made in it 
below the water line. 

Whether it would be to a certain man's advan- 
tage to buy one of these ready-made motor boats, 
or to purchase an engine and install it in a hull 
built at some other yard, will depend so much 
upon circumstances that it is almost impossible 
to give practical advice on the subject. The com- 
pleted craft, being ready to run, will require less 
trouble in its purchase, and if the buyer can find 



10 THE MOTOR BOAT 

just what he wants, it would probably be the bet- 
ter policy for him to obtain one of these. If he 
already owns a substantial hull, however, it would 
naturally be to his advantage to secure a suitable 
motor and install it in the boat. 

Ordering an entirely new boat to specifications 
will insure exactly the type of craft the man 
thinks he wants, but a low-priced boat of the sort 
we are considering would hardly warrant the ex- 
tra trouble involved in having the hull built to 
order and an engine of a different make installed 
therein. In general it may be said that when 
the investment represented is not over one hun- 
dred and fifty dollars the ready-made boat will be 
preferable to the built-to-order kind — unless the 
purchaser already owns a suitable hull or engine, 
or both. 

A man of a mechanical turn of mind who de- 
sires to devote his spare time during the winter 
to an interesting and money-saving pursuit can 
do no better than to build his own boat — provided 
he has at his command a sufficiently large work- 
shop and the few tools necessary. There are sev- 
eral methods by which he can do this, and either, 
when properly carried out, should supply him 
with a motor boat at considerably less expendi- 
ture of money than would be the case had he 
bought the craft outright. 



USES OF MOTOR BOATS 11 

Some manufacturers and designers furnish, for 
a small sum, a complete set of patterns, or forms, 
and blue prints, by the use of which a complete 
hull may be made. The actual cost of such a 
boat will consist in the few dollars expended for 
the blue prints and patterns and the cost of the 
raw material and hardware. Unless the man who 
is building the hull in this manner has at his dis- 
posal a small buzz or band saw, he must have 
some of the lumber cut for him at a sawmill, and 
this expense must be added to the cost of building 
the boat. 

The " knock-down " boat could hardly be called 
a home-made affair, for the pieces are cut in the 
factory and merely assembled in the amateur 
builder's shop. Before shipment each piece is 
cut to fit accurately in its place and minute direc- 
tions are given for every part. The cost of these 
parts is probably less than half the net price of 
the completed boat. The saving in freight from 
the factor}^ to the water on which the boat is to 
be operated is another important item to be con- 
sidered, and probably two thirds of this charge 
may be saved because of the more compact and 
convenient form in which the " knock-down " parts 
are shipped. 

The building of these boats by the amateur is 
practicable only for hulls of the smaller sizes — 



12 THE MOTOR BOAT 

not exceeding twenty- four or twenty-five feet in 
length, let us say. Above this size, the parts 
become too large and bulky for him to handle, 
and the heavier tools required confine the build- 
ing of such a hull to a well-equipped shop under 
the immediate direction of a professional boat 
builder. 

Although new boats of forty, and even more, 
feet in length can be obtained with motor installed 
and the whole craft ready for operation, the ma- 
jority of motor boats over twenty-five feet long 
are made to order from specifications furnished 
or suggested by the prospective owner or his 
adviser. A man buying a boat of this size has 
doubtless previously owned or operated a smaller 
craft, and by the time he has graduated into the 
large-size auto boat or cruiser class, he will prob- 
ably know just about what he wants. Conse- 
quently the present chapter — written, as it is, 
primarily for the beginner — cannot well include 
points or suggestions on boats of these propor- 
tions. Between twenty-five and forty feet, how- 
ever, many auto boats, cruisers, and " family 
boats " are in use by the novice. 

Probably the majority of motor boats to-day 
under forty feet in length can be controlled easily 
by one man, and the owner, if he so chooses, may 
assume the role of the " cook, the mate, and the 



USES OF MOTOR BOATS 13 

captain bold," and also the crew of his craft. 
To have under his control at the same time the 
speed of the motor and the guidance of his craft 
lends a zest and enchantment to motor boating 
which cannot be found in the larger yachts where 
the signals must be sent down from the bridge to 
the engine room located out of sight in the hold 
and on which the captain and engineer are hired 
professionals. Quick to realize this desire on the 
part of the average owner to operate his craft 
himself, the builders make a feature of the simple, 
one-man control, and modern design enables a 
forty-foot auto boat or cruiser to be handled 
almost as easily as a sixteen-foot runabout. 

The auto boat is probably the type which ex- 
cites the greatest amount of admiration from 
spectators and passengers as it skims lightly 
over the water at the rate of from fifteen to thirty 
miles an hour, and the prospective buyer imme- 
diately picks this out as the only kind of a craft 
that it will satisfy him to own. He need not be 
discouraged, however, by such seemingly hopeless 
ambitions, for it is really remarkable what a 
speedy, trim, and serviceable little craft may be 
purchased for fifteen hundred dollars or less. 
In fact, an auto boat about twenty-five feet long 
and capable of carrying six or seven passengers 
at the rate of twelve or fourteen miles an hour 



14 THE MOTOR BOAT 

can be purchased complete for about five hundred 
dollars. 

Modern hull design and motor boat construc- 
tion have brought a boat with a speed capacity 
of twenty or more miles an hour within the reach 
of the man who has but a thousand dollars to 
spend for the purpose. Above this speed the 
price increases out of all proportion to the num- 
ber of miles per hour gained. For instance, a 
twenty-five-mile boat may be built and equipped 
for less than two thousand dollars, but a craft 
capable of attaining thirty miles an hour would 
require the expenditure of at least twelve thou- 
sand dollars. 

While the two-cycle marine motor is exceed- 
ingly efficient and reliable in the smaller powers, 
and is at all times less complicated than the four- 
cycle type, it is seldom found in the auto boat in 
horsepowers exceeding twenty. In horsepow- 
ers ranging from one-half to twenty, however, 
the two-cycle type will be found in every variety 
of boat, and it is in these smaller sizes that its 
greatest field of usefulness is found. 

It is not the desire of the writer to be drawn 
into any discussion of the relative merits of these 
two leading forms of marine motors, and for the 
information of the novice it may be said, roughly, 
that the trend of design seems to favor the two- 



USES OF MOTOR BOATS 15 

cycle type for the small powers, while the racers 
or heavy boats requiring large horsepower em- 
ploy the four-cycle motor almost exclusively. 
In other words, a skiff or canoe should be 
equipped with the simpler two-cycle motor, while 
a large racer or ocean-going yacht needs the 
more economical and powerful four-cycle engine 
— and it is only where the fields overlap that there 
is any room for discussion between these powers. 

While the graceful and swift-running auto boat 
may appeal to the sense of luxury in the average 
man, space and seaworthiness must be sacrificed 
for the attainment of high speed, and it is evident 
that this type of boat is not so well adapted to 
rough weather or extended trips as is the cruiser. 
Nearly all cruisers have the cockpit inclosed in a 
low cabin in which are sleeping and eating accom- 
modations for from two to six persons — depend- 
ing upon the size of the craft. 

The cabin also contains a toilet room, lockers, 
and probably a couple of chairs and a writing 
desk, while deck space aft furnishes daytime ac- 
commodations for the crew or passengers. The 
high freeboard of the cabin and the inclosed cock- 
pit make this an ideal rough-weather type of 
boat, and it is craft of this class which have suc- 
cessfully made the trip from New York to Ber- 
muda. 



16 THE MOTOR BOAT 

A good-sized cruiser, when furnished with ma- 
hogany woodwork and equipped with an electric 
lighting plant, running water, and other modern 
conveniences, may become a veritable " floating 
palace," but such a craft is beyond the means of 
the ordinary man who desires to operate his own 
boat. But cruiser and costliness are not neces- 
sarily synonymous, for a twenty-five-boat of this 
type, with sleeping accommodations for three 
persons and driven by an eight horsepower mo- 
tor may be purchased complete and ready for 
operation for eight hundred and fifty dollars, and 
so far as reliability and solid enjoyment of a 
cruise are concerned, it is fully the equal of its 
ten-thousand-dollar sister. 

A type of motor craft exceedingly popular 
with those who desire to its fullest extent neither 
the speed of the auto boat nor the touring possi- 
bilities of the cruiser is the open boat with a can- 
opy top and side curtains which may be closed 
down in case of rain or rough weather. This 
boat is by no means slow, however, for a thirty- 
foot hull of good model equipped with a fifteen 
or twenty horsepower motor can attain a speed 
of thirteen or fourteen miles an hour. On the 
other hand, while not possessing the advantages 
for living on board found in the cruiser, trips 
lasting several days may be taken in this type of 



USES OF MOTOR BOATS IT 

open boat and a party of three or four may sleep 
in its roomy cockpit without great discomfort. 

In such a boat the motor should be located 
amidships, and seats with lockers under them 
should extend around the rear half or two-thirds 
of the cockpit. This will leave space in the for- 
ward part for several comfortable chairs, while 
the lockers under the seats furnish room for 
nearly all necessary camping and boat supplies. 
If the hull is built with a V-^transom stern a large 
space under the stern deck is left for stowing 
many of the more bulky articles which cannot be 
placed in the lockers. An extra steering wheel 
located near the motor enables the boat to be 
managed easily by one man. 

When to the variety of styles and sizes of 
hulls which are or can be built are added the dif- 
ferent types, powers, and makes of motors on the 
market, and when it is realized that almost any 
combination of use of the one with the other may 
be obtained, it will be seen that the choice of the 
motor boat purchaser as regards the details of 
his completed craft is by no means limited. Un- 
like the automobile, the engine in the motor boat 
may be replaced with a different one as often as 
desired, and the old motors reinstalled in other 
hulls. Continual changing of the power plant 
in a motor boat is not advisable, however, as the 



18 THE MOTOR BOAT 

engine bed must necessarily be rebuilt for each 
different motor installed, and it is far better to 
select the engine best suited for the hull at first, 
and then use it until it is worn out. 

The ease with which an engine may be installed 
in almost any kind of a hull has led to the prac- 
tice in some places of converting almost anything 
that floats into a motor boat, and it is no uncom- 
mon sight to see catboat hulls, scows, and even 
flat-bottom punts chugging along under their 
own power. 

It is probable that the owner of even the most 
expensive racer or cruiser will need a small 
'' knockabout " for short trips in pleasant 
weather, and the inexperienced motor boat en- 
thusiast cannot do better than to start his train- 
ing with one of these inexpensive craft — for it 
will always be useful to him. From this he can 
graduate to a better and more commodious type 
of boat, if he desires, and at the end of a season 
or so of running his first purchase he will be in a 
position to know just exactly what he wants for 
its successor. But whatever size or class of boat 
he buys subsequently, it is almost certain that he 
will never find more solid enjoyment and unadal- 
terated fun than he had the first season or two 
in his hundred-dollar " knockabout." 

The most valuable boat of any of which I have 



USES OF MOTOR BOATS 19 

heard belonged to a man who had a small farm 
on an island at one of the popular summer re- 
sorts in the eastern part of this country. This 
boat was not valuable so far as the price it would 
bring in the market, or the initial cost of it was 
concerned, for mj friend did not pay over five 
hundred dollars for his twenty-five-footer, com- 
plete ; its value lay in the service it rendered him 
and in the fact that it was indispensable to him 
both for business and pleasure. It was the 
" family sea-horse," ready to take him and his 
wife and children to market or to church at the 
near-by town, or to chug steadily up the river 
on a picnic or hunting trip. 

From early spring till late fall the little boat 
was in use — and generally from morning till 
night. On the first day on which the river was 
opened for navigation in the spring, the craft 
would be launched and on its way to the nearest 
town, three miles distant, for the lumber and tim- 
ber necessary to repair the portions of the boat- 
house and piers that had been damaged by the 
breaking up of the ice and the high waters of the 
spring freshets ; then the next day down the river 
with a heavy scow in tow for a load of stones for 
the piers and sea wall; back before dark, and 
then over to town again for supplies or the mail, 
or to take the family to a dance or a ** sociable " 



20 THE MOTOR BOAT 

— and the little craft would follow out a program 
similar to this for several weeks. 

As the " season " opened and the boarders be- 
gan to arrive, the boat served both as ferry and 
freighter, going over to the town to meet the 
trains and returning loaded with passengers; 
then back to town again for the trunks and bag- 
gage of the new arrivals. 

Early in the morning this " Jack-of-all-trades 
boat " was at work, for my friend had a small 
garden and kept some of the neighboring cot- 
tagers supplied with fresh vegetables. Only for 
an hour, however, would it assume the role of 
market boat, for at the end of that time the fish- 
ermen would be waiting to be towed in their skiffs 
to the inlet where the bass were supposed to 
abound. 

Did the boat loaf, during the day, while wait- 
ing to return for the fishermen or to meet the af- 
ternoon train? Only long enough for a few gal- 
lons of gasoline, for if the day was pleasant some 
of the ladies and children would be ready for their 
outing on the water — the boat was remarkable 
for its steadiness and the safety with which it 
could be loaded literally to the gunwales with 
human freight. 

After the summer months were over and the 
boat had more than paid for itself in a single sea- 



USES OF MOTOR BOATS 21 

son, it was ready to serve as the pleasure craft 
for which it was first intended and to give its 
owner and his family several weeks of the enjoy- 
ment for which they had worked so hard. From 
passenger ferry, freighter, tug, mail packet, and 
vegetable boat, it became private yacht, fishing 
smack, hunting boat, cruiser, and on occasions 
even racer. 

Or the little craft could tow the ungainly but 
comfortable house boat to another part of the 
river, and with the family living on board, a 
change of scenery and surroundings could be ob- 
tained which would serve as a vacation to these 
people whose whole summer had been spent in 
giving a vacation to others. This outing would 
be at a cost less than that of a railroad ticket to 
the nearest county fair. 

And as a racer ? Yes, indeed ; there were 
other twenty-five-footers in the neighborhood 
equipped with approximately the same power, 
and a contest between these, or with others pro- 
vided with suitable handicaps, furnished a race 
which, while of course not breaking any records 
in the matter of speed, was at least a close and 
exciting contest, and one more interesting to the 
little colony of natives than would be a race for 
an international cup between boats whose owners 
they were not able to call by their first names. 



22 THE MOTOR BOAT 

Now do you believe that this five-hundred-dol- 
lar boat was a more valuable little craft than one 
of ten times its cost? Of course the motor of this 
boat, during its few inactive moments, was not 
hitched to the churn and used to make butter, nor 
was it belted to the pump in order to keep the 
water-supply tank filled — these are only fairy 
tales of some visionary or press agent, and 
while possible of realization, are not practical — 
but as a boat it served in nearly every capacity 
imaginable and both worked and played for its 
master as well as though he had possessed a fleet 
of a dozen different craft. 

Of course, not everyone who owns a cottage on 
some body of water suitable for motor boating 
can expect to get the range of use from a power 
craft that my friend did — nor would he desire to 
— but to a less extent a twenty-five-foot boat may 
be made the most valuable and important feature 
of a summer vacation. This will apply particu- 
larly to a section such as the Thousand Islands, 
on the St. Lawrence River, where one or more 
summer homes will be on an island completely iso-- 
lated from the nearest post-office and source of 
supplies, and a boat of some kind is an absolute 
necessity. 

Here it is as a means of communication with 
the outside world, of intercourse with the neigh- 



USES OF MOTOR BOATS 23 

bors, and as a conveyance for all food that the 
motor boat stands foremost, and a cottager 
would no sooner think of being without a power 
craft of some kind than he would of going with- 
out shoes in winter. In the consideration of 
most of the vacationists here, the motor boat 
comes first, and the cottage, bungalow, or tent 
is of secondary importance. 

If a man's business lies near enough to his sum- 
mer home, or if he can get away from work for a 
week or so in the spring, he will find a stanch, 
twenty-five-foot boat, equipped with a gasoline 
motor of from six to ten horse-power, a money 
saver and of the greatest help imaginable in pre- 
paring his place for the summer. The high wa- 
ter and ice show no favors, and it is probable that 
the boathouse and piers of the cottager will need 
as many repairs as do those of the native — if not 
more, due to the lack of care throughout the win- 
ter in the case of the former. 

In this connection, one of the best investments 
that can be made is the purchase of a flat-bot- 
tomed, square-ended scow on which almost any 
kind of freight can be carried. This can be 
towed by the little motor boat at a speed of four 
or five miles an hour, even when loaded with sev- 
eral tons of cargo, and will enable the craft to 
transport bulky articles larger than the hull it- 



^4 THE MOTOR BOAT 

self, which would swamp it if loaded into the cock- 
pit. This scow will probably be in almost con- 
stant use during the first part of the season, 
bringing lumber and stone for the repairs, house- 
hold articles for the cottage, and coal and wood 
for the kitchen range and fireplace. 

During the season, the trunks and baggage of 
the arriving and departing guests can be carried 
on the steady, flat-bottomed craft much more 
safely than would be the case were they trusted 
to the diminutive " hold "of the little motor boat, 
and in hundreds of ways the scow will save several 
times the thirty or forty dollars of its cost. If 
the motor boat is well finished inside, the saving 
in scratches and digs in the woodwork alone will 
more than repay the trouble in towing the scow 
for the purpose of returning with but one or two 
trunks. 

Although not equipped with a steam scoop or 
like appliance, the little motor boat can make 
itself useful in the capacity of dredge, clearing 
away the submerged stumps or logs that will 
probably have drifted into shore or near the 
boathouse slip during the year. It should be 
made certain that all of these are removed at the 
beginning of each season, for a sunken log will 
damage a propeller or hull almost as easily as 
will a sharp rock. 



USES OF MOTOR BOATS U 

It is really remarkable what a heavy load can 
be towed by a comparatively small boat. One 
of the most astonishing sights to the uninitiated 
is to see a small two-horsepower tender try to 
tow a yacht a hundred or more feet long. And 
it not only tries, but it does it — slow, to be sure, 
but steady, and with no more apparent effort on 
the part of the motor than if it was doing only its 
own work, and not that of three or four hundred 
horsepower as well. 

One of the greatest pleasures to be obtained 
from a small motor boat is in preparing it for 
and entering it in a race with other craft of its 
class — a race in which the smooth and reliable 
operation of the motor and the efficient handling 
and jockeying by the navigator count for more 
than does the possession of excessively high 
power. The ideal race consists of a speed con- 
test between boats of exactly the same design of 
hull and driven by the same kind and size of mo- 
tor. This enables each contestant to start on 
even terms with all the others, and even though 
the maximum speed should not be more than ten 
or twelve miles an hour, a close and exciting finish 
may be expected and the winner will have deserved 
his success on his own merits. 

It is hardly probable that at one summer re^ 
sort there would be a sufficient number of boats 



26 THE MOTOR BOAT 

of the same design to enable a race of this kind 
to take place, unless several were built for the 
purpose of holding such contests. In the latter 
case, however, they would have been built for the 
purpose of racing and would be racing boats, 
and as such they could not be included with the 
combination work and pleasure boats with which 
we are dealing. 

A scarcity of boats of the same design need not 
prevent interesting races from taking place, pro- 
viding a system of handicapping the faster craft 
has been devised. A handicap on a boat is, at 
its best, a very arbitrary arrangement, and the 
dissatisfaction expressed with the old-fashioned 
" ratings " finally became so pronounced that 
they have been done away with to a large extent 
in national and international races. 

In the small amateur races, however, in which 
the contestants enter their boats for the fun they 
can get out of the event, some plan must be 
adopted whereby all entrants will be placed on 
an even footing. Measurements, cylinder vol- 
umes, midship sections, and the like cause so 
much dissatisfaction as a basis for handicaps that 
it is probable that the only fair method is the 
" time trial " system. By this method each en- 
trant makes a round of the course under, sup- 
posedly, racing conditions, and the time that his 



USES OF MOTOR BOATS 27 

boat makes is used as a basis upon which his 
handicap is figured. 

Although there is nothing to indicate that the 
owner has been making his motor do its best work 
on this time trial, the figures are accepted as 
handed in, without question or examination. To 
provide against any deception, intentional or ac- 
cidental, any boat completing the course in the 
race in a time which is more than three per cent, 
under that used as a basis for its handicap, will 
be disqualified. 

The summer program of the average cottager 
seems nowadays to include a trip or cruise of 
some kind for a few days to another part of the 
body of water on which he is spending his vaca- 
tion. This is a feature of a vacation which has 
been made possible only by the development of 
the motor boat and its low cost that places it 
within the reach of everyone. Of course if it is 
desired to live aboard the boat for any length of 
time, a cruiser equipped with berths, a galley or 
kitchen, and some of the other " comforts of 
home " is necessary, but for short trips of not 
over a week or so in duration, our little friend, 
the twenty-five-foot open boat, may be made to 
serve the purpose admirably — and here we see it 
in still another role. 

It is not, however, until the vacationist adds 



28 THE MOTOR BOAT 

houseboating to his list of summer recreations 
that the full value of an all-round motor boat will 
be realized. It is then that the advantage of a 
strong motor installed in a substantial hull will 
be seen, for a ten or twelve horsepower engine 
in a twentj-five-foot boat can tow a five- or six- 
room house boat considerably faster than a man 
can walk, and yet, when released from its burden 
after the destination is reached, the little craft 
is not so large but that it can serve as messenger, 
" runabout," and sight-seeing boat and act as 
connecting link between the house boat and a base 
of supplies. Its draft will be small enough to 
allow it to navigate shallow streams and explore 
bays and inlets, and yet the hull will be of suffi- 
cient size to enable it to outride safely all but 
the severest storms. 

It seems that the average " pleasure-work- 
boat " of the kind that did such good and profit- 
able service for my friend who ran the summer 
boarding house is the type best suited to the av- 
erage man, and whether he is able to afford but 
one or a dozen motor boats, such a craft is well- 
nigh indispensable to the vacationist who spends 
his summers on a lake or river. It will work for 
him and play for him; it will help make repairs 
to his place ; it will carry wood and coal and the 
baggage of his guests ; it will act as tug and racer 



USES OF MOTOR BOATS W 

— and may win a cup for him as a result of a 
well-deserved triumph; it will take him and his 
friends to far-distant fishing grounds ; it will sup- 
ply him with mail and provisions; it will furnish 
him with a change of air, scenery, and surround- 
ings on a day's or a week's cruise; and, in fact, 
it will increase the possibilities and pleasures of 
a vacation several times over. 

And what does it ask in return? Nothing, if 
it is a well-behaved boat, except that it be fed 
with gasoline and oil and used with common sense. 
And then, if allowed to hibernate in peace 
throughout the winter, protected from the Ice 
and damp, stagnant air, it will be ready for an- 
other strenuous season after only a few days' 
grooming in the spring. 



CHAPTER n 

WHEN THE MOTOR BALKS 

TO quote an oft repeated phrase from the 
closing words of a lecture given by a well 
known college professor, " When your mo- 
tor refuses to run you may be reasonably sure 
that the trouble is due to one of three causes: 
first, a stoppage in or poor adjustment of the 
carburetor ; second, the failure of the ignition sys- 
tem; and last but not least, 'pure cussedness.' " 
Anyone who has cranked and cranked a balky 
motor until his back is nearly broken will heartily 
concur and will give the devil more than his due 
by bestowing full credit for all troubles of this 
nature upon the last-named reason. 

But the modern marine motor is not the cranky 
little piece of mechanism that many of its de- 
famers would have us believe, and although up to 
a few years ago it had not attained the perfec- 
tion of design and performance reached by its 
more expensive cousin in the automobile, the gas- 
oline engine found on the water to-day is a well 
constructed and satisfactory machine that does 
30 



WHEN THE MOTOR BALKS 31 

its work and stops only when there is a good rea- 
son for it. Of course there are many old and 
ramshackle motors of a decade ago installed in 
various hulls of an equally nondescript type, and 
the combination of the two may form the craft 
which has done much to bring the gasoline ma- 
rine engine into disrepute in the minds of those 
who know nothing of the matter, but such freaks 
should not be taken as criteria by which to con- 
demn all other self-propelled boats without a 
careful examination. 

Perhaps as much time and thought have not 
been put upon the design and construction of the 
marine motor as have been bestowed upon the au- 
tomobile engine, but if this is the case, it is be- 
cause conditions upon the water do not call for 
extreme light weight, the use of the same water 
over and over again for the cooling system, or a 
machine that will withstand the shaking jolts and 
jars that fall to the lot of a motor car power 
plant. A motor which will give satisfactory serv- 
ice for years when installed in a boat might 
hardly serve to drive an automobile a mile over a 
level road. 

On the other hand, however, automobile en- 
gines are in use in many motor boats and give 
very satisfactory service after slight changes 
have been made in the cooling system and atten- 



n THE MOTOR BOAT 

tion given to a few other minor details which 
would not interest the lay reader. 

It will be understood from this, then, that any- 
one who is an experienced motor car driver should 
have no difficulty in operating a marine engine — 
unless its very simplicity and absence of compli- 
cated parts should confuse him — and the same 
trouble may be looked for in one as in the other. 
For every trouble there's a reason and a remedy, 
and even the " pure cussedness " may be cured 
when one understands his motor. Some motors 
seem almost human, and two of the same make 
and model may require to be handled so diifer- 
ently that it is difficult to realize that they are 
the products of the same factory. 

Much of the marine-motor contrariness may be 
laid at the door, or needle valve, rather, of the 
carburetor. This, as nearly everyone knows, is 
the chamber and series of valves where the gaso- 
line is vaporized and mixed with the air in the 
proper proportion to be exploded in the engine 
cylinder. The amount of air used in this mix- 
ture is about twelve times greater than the gaso- 
line vapor, and a small variation in this propor- 
tion will give the " too weak " or " too rich " 
mixture, with consequent poor running of the mo- 
tor. 

The needle valve admits the gasoline in the 



1 



WHEN THE MOTOR BALKS 38 

form of a fine spray into the chamber in which 
it is mixed with the air and a slight turn in either 
direction will greatly vary the proportion of the 
resulting mixture. Some carburetors are auto- 
matic, and when once the needle valve is set, de- 
liver the proper mixture to the cylinder for all 
speeds of the engine. 

But there is no carburetor made that can con- 
trol atmospheric changes; and heat, cold, or 
dampness in the air will have such an effect on 
the resulting mixture that while the engine may 
have been running perfectly on a certain day with 
the needle valve set at a particular notch, the 
conditions of the next day may require a quarter 
of a turn change in the needle valve position be- 
fore the proper mixture is obtained. It is for 
such troubles as these that the motor itself is 
blamed. 

All this would seem to imply that the third rea- 
son given by the college professor for trouble in 
the gasoline engine was the same as his first rea- 
son. But trouble may be caused by a well defined 
defect or poor adjustment of the carburetor. 
When this is the case it should not be confounded 
with the elusive changes in atmospheric conditions 
and other indefinable reasons which are classed as 
" pure cussedness." 

If a motor stops iinexpectedly? muph time will 



34 THE MOTOR BOAT 

be saved by knowing just where to look for the 
trouble, and the experienced engineer will bring 
several of his senses into use in locating this. 
The manner in which a motor stops is often in- 
dicative of the nature of the trouble. For in- 
stance, if your motor is spinning merrily along 
and then stops abruptly without warning, it is 
pretty certain that one of the electrical connec- 
tions on batteries, switch, coil, engine, or timer 
has become loosened or broken and it will pay you 
to examine thoroughly each one of these terminals 
before devoting your attention to other parts of 
the mechanism. 

A failing gasoline supply, on the other hand, 
wiU be indicated by a gradual reduction of power 
in the motor, the impulses growling weaker and 
weaker until the engine stops. Pitted platinum 
contact points of the vibrator which cause the 
coil to " stick " and batteries which have nearly 
run out will be evidenced by the same symptom — 
a peculiar hitch or catch of the motor which can 
be felt in the whole boat, after which the engine 
may run smoothly for several minutes. These 
hitches will increase in frequency until the motor 
stops, unless the cause is properly attended to at 
once. 

Coil or battery trouble is one of the most elu- 
sive with which the motor boatiaiaa has to con- 



WHEN THE MOTOR BALKS 35 

tend, for after removing the plug and turning 
over the wheel until connection is made, he is 
liable to be deceived by the generous spark ex- 
hibited and by the satisfactory buzz of the vi- 
brator. This is due to the fact that failing bat- 
teries or a sticking coil will not exhibit their 
weaknesses except at intervals and conditions are 
much better for the production of a spark in the 
open air than in the high pressure of the engine 
cylinder. For this reason it is always a good 
idea to include a small battery tester as a part 
of the regular equipment of the boat and keep 
yourself well informed as to the condition of the 
source of your ignition current. 

If the batteries are found to be in good condi- 
tion — that is, delivering six or eight amperes of 
current or better — and the spark plug delivers 
a good, fat, violet-colored flame, it is evident that 
the ignition trouble must lie in the coil. In this 
case a bit of fine emery paper should be run over 
the platinum points of the vibrator and set screw 
and the motor turned until contact is made 
through the timer. 

The buzz of the coil should be well defined and 
should not change pitch during the connection. 
If the pitch does change, however, it is evident 
that the adjustment of the vibrator is wrong and 
the set screw should be turned in one direction or 



86 THE MOTOR BOAT 

the other until the sound that you have been ac- 
customed to hear is given off. 

A single miss of the motor should not always 
be taken as an indication that the batteries are 
weak or that the coil requires attention, for the 
trouble might be caused by a fouled spark plug 
due to an excessive amount of lubricating oil on 
the cylinder walls. If missing from this source 
continues, the spark plug should be removed and 
the electrodes, or points between which the spark 
jumps, cleansed with fine emery cloth and the car- 
bon deposit softened by the application of a small 
quantity of kerosene. 

This occasional miss of the motor was once the 
cause of an amusing experience which befell a 
party cruising through a canal in a motor boat. 
The boat was gliding peacefully along between 
overhanging banks and the occupants were enjoy- 
ing the scenery, when suddenly, with no percepti- 
ble change of sound in the motor, it was noticed 
that the shores on either side seemed to be moving 
in the other direction. Then it was found that 
the boat was moving backward as unconcernedly 
as she had formerly been running forward and 
only the most active work on the part of the en- 
gineer prevented her from ramming, stern fore- 
most, into the nearest bank. 

The cause was as simple as the results 'were 



WHEN THE MOTOR BALKS 37 

amusing. The motor was of the two-cycle tjpe 
which will run as well in one direction as in the 
other. When all gasoline motors are running at 
maximum speed the spark is advanced so that 
the explosion occurs before the piston reaches 
the top of the stroke. A small carbon deposit 
had accumulated on the spark plug and this 
caused a cessation of the explosions for one or 
two turns before it was burned off. When the 
spark resumed work the momentum of the engine 
had died down sufficiently to allow the next ex- 
plosion to turn the fly wheel in the opposite di- 
rection, and it continued to revolve in that man- 
ner. This had been done so quickly that the 
occupants of the boat, engrossed with the scenery, 
had not noticed the slight pause in the engine, 
and when the motor had once started reversing, 
no difference could be detected in the sound. 

This same principle is often made use of in en- 
gines of this type to cause them to reverse, but 
in this case, the switch is thrown off until the 
speed of the motor is reduced enough to allow 
the next impulse, occurring before the piston 
reaches the top of the stroke, to take the fl}^ 
wheel over in the opposite direction. The above 
incident is only one of the many which might be 
laid to " pure cussedness " by the amateur who 
is not thoroughly acquainted with all parts of his 



S8 THE MOTOR BOAT 

engine, and ^ret a very definite and specific reason 
existed. 

It is probable that hearing plays a greater part 
in first locating the source of trouble in a gaso- 
line engine than any other of the senses, and the 
expert can tell by the sound of his motor whether 
it is receiving too much or too little gasoline, too 
much or too little lubricating oil, or if the diffi- 
culty lies in the ignition system. An excessive 
supply of gasoline in the mixture will cause a 
series of weak explosions which will slow down 
the motor and result in irregular running. 

This is because there is not sufficient oxygen in 
the mixture to support the combustion of the 
gasoline vapor, and the trouble may be remedied 
by Increasing the amount of air or decreasing the 
flow of fuel to the carburetor. Most carbure- 
tors, however, are so constructed that the gaso- 
line flow is regulated and a very slight turn of 
the needle valve to the right as you face it should 
help to give the proper mixture. Many marine 
motors require a richer mixture for starting than 
they do after attaining full speed, and conse- 
quently the needle valve is used when it is desired 
to vary the speed of the engine. 

When the mixture is weak, meaning that it con- 
tains an insufficient supply of gasoline for the 
accompanying amount of air, a crank case, or 



WHEN THE MOTOR BALKS 39 

base, explosion will generally be the result in a 
two-cycle, three-port motor. When these ex- 
plosions are once heard there can be no mistaking 
them afterwards, for the short, sharp crack, fol- 
lowed by a puff of smoke from the base of the 
motor causes the uninitiated to feel decidedly ap- 
prehensive. 

There is no real danger, however, and these 
crank-case explosions are to be expected nearly 
every time the motor is slowed down without open- 
ing the needle valve a sufficient amount. With 
motors not equipped with delicate carburetors it 
is a good idea to open the needle valve about a 
quarter of a turn before retarding the spark, thus 
supplying a sufficiently rich mixture for the re- 
duced speed of the motor. If this is done the 
needle valve will be set at the right point when it 
is again desired to start the motor. 

The most economical and efficient running is 
obtained when the needle valve is set so that the 
motor receives as little gasoline as possible with- 
out the attendant base explosions. The reverse 
clutch should not be thrown in or the propeller 
blades turned when the base explosions are fre- 
quent, for the extra load on the motor at a time 
when the impulses are irregular is liable to 
" stall '' the engine, and if the reverse is de- 
pended upon for checking the headway of the 



40 THE MOTOR BOAT 

boat in making a landing, a smashed bow is liable 
to be the result. 

These differences in the sound of the running 
of the motor are caused by a change in the nature 
of the explosions or in the frequency of the im- 
pulses. Sounds foreign to the explosions, how- 
ever, may indicate trouble in the motor; above 
all, the operator should beware of the fatal click 
which indicates a loosened connecting rod or a 
stray nut or bolt in the crank case. If the motor 
is not stopped immediately when these conditions 
arise, a broken connecting rod or crank is almost 
certain to be the result. Fortunately, however, 
such accidents seldom happen, although the en- 
gineer may receive a good scare through mistak- 
ing a slight pound or knock in the cylinder head 
for the click of an obstruction in the crank case 
or a loose connecting rod. 

A decided pound in the cylinder head soon 
after starting the motor may be caused by ad- 
vancing the spark beyond the point at which it 
is intended to be set, thus igniting the mixture 
before the piston is sufficiently high on the stroke. 
A man who has run a certain boat a few times 
will soon learn the point at which the spark lever 
should be set for the proper operation of the 
motor, and it will then become second nature to 
him never to advance the spark beyond this point. 



WHEN THE MOTOR BALKS 41 

With the spark set in the proper position a 
knock in the cylinder head can generally mean 
but one thing — a hot engine caused either by a 
stoppage in the water cooling system or an insuf- 
ficient supply of oil to the piston. In nine cases 
out of ten the latter will be the cause of the trou- 
ble, and if you will look at your sight feeds you 
will probably either find that the glasses are full, 
indicating a stoppage in the feed pipe, or that 
you forgot to open the cups or possibly fill the 
oil tanks. 

Continued running with an insufficient supply 
of oil will soon cause the piston to expand with 
the heat so that it will seize the cylinder walls 
with a grip that cannot be loosened until the 
metal has cooled. When the cylinder overheats 
a small quantity of kerosene should be poured 
into it through the spark plug opening and the 
fly-wheel moved back and forth as the cylinder 
and piston gradually cool until there is a perfect 
freedom of motion between the two. 

A liberal amount of lubricating oil should then 
be added and the motor revolved by hand power 
until the cylinder walls are thoroughly lubri- 
cated. Do not expect, however, that your motor 
will run as well after an accident of this kind, for 
the immense amount of friction set up between 
the piston rings and the cylinder walls will score 



42 THE MOTOR BOAT 

.or grind one or the other until a slight leakage 
of compression may be the result. 

The sense of smell will often enable the man 
who is well acquainted with his motor to detect 
an insufficient supply of oil in the cylinder or 
stoppage in the cooling system. When the en- 
gine becomes overheated from either of these 
causes a peculiar choking, pungent odor will be 
given oif which should be taken as an indication 
that the lubricating or cooling systems require 
immediate attention. 

Too much lubricating oil is far better than too 
little, and yet the former may be the cause of 
very annoying trouble in starting the motor. 
The excess of oil is bound to become burned in 
the cylinder and the smoke thus formed may 
choke the explosion to a certain extent, or may 
form a carbon deposit on the spark plug, as al- 
ready described, which will prevent ignition for 
a few revolutions. 

Trouble caused by too much oil can seldom be 
mistaken, for it is always indicated by clouds of 
blue smoke which pour from every opening in the 
motor with each explosion. With the simple 
form of marine-motor now equipped with a me- 
chanical oiler, the relief cocks should be opened 
occasionally to make certain that there is at least 
a faint trace of blue smoke given oif with each ex- 



WHEN THE MOTOR BALKS 43 

plosion; the operator may then rest assured that I 

the piston is receiving a sufficient amount of oil. 

All things considered, it is probable that the 
ignition system is responsible for a greater share 
of trouble in the marine-motor than any other 
part of the machine, and too much attention can- 
not be given to it. The greatest enemy to the 
high-tension ignition system, or jump spark, is 
water, and the open boat equipped with this type 
must be well protected from rain or spray if it 
is to be run in all kinds of weather. 

Dampness will weaken a set of batteries almost 
as quickly as a closed circuit, and the box in 
which these are contained should be made either i 

water-proof or placed in a part of the boat where I 

the water cannot possibly reach it. The coil, too, i 

should be kept dry, and if convenient, it should 
be placed in the same box in which the batteries 
are kept. But even after protecting these parts 
of the ignition system from the wet, the motor _ j 

cannot be relied upon to run continuously unless 
the spark plug and all bare terminals of the high- 
tension wires are covered, for the slightest damp- 
ness will short circuit the plug and cause the 
spark to jump from the wire to some part of the 
motor, instead of across the gap at the end of 
the plug in the cylinder, as should be the case. 

If your boat is caught in a storm with insuffi- 



U THE MOTOR BOAT 

cient protection for the motor, the spark plug 
may be kept dry by placing an oilskin hat over 
the top of the cylinder, and if the high-tension 
wires are covered with heavy insulation, you may 
be able to get home without a miss from the mo- 
tor. It is a good idea to cover the insulation of 
the high-tension wires that are exposed with sev- 
eral coats of shellac to render them thoroughly 
waterproof, and also to prevent the disintegra- 
tion of the covering by any gasoline or oil which 
may come in contact with it. 

If in addition to the above precautions, extra 
spark plugs, additional batteries, and a spare 
platinum contact point and vibrator for the coil 
are carried along, you should be ready for almost 
any emergency that may arise to put your igni- 
tion system out of commission. Add to these 
extra cans of gasoline and lubricating oil — about 
three times as much as you know you will need — 
and you will be ready, so far as your motor is con- 
cerned, to start on a trip of almost any length. 
Of course, a full outfit of tools should always be 
in a convenient place in the boat. 

When your motor stops unexpectedly, don't 
get excited, but start in calmly to trace out the 
cause of the trouble. Take your time, and even 
though there may be an impatient crowd on 
board, don't appear to hurry. If the wind or 



WHEN THE MOTOR BALKS 45 

tide is carrying the boat toward the shore, throw 
out the anchor rather than feel that you have but 
a limited time in which to discover the trouble 
and make the repairs. 

Trace the trouble logically by a process of 
elimination, and if you are unable to tell instantly 
from the manner in which the motor stopped just 
what was the cause, ascertain, first, that nobody 
has kicked off the switch; second, that there is a 
good healthy buzz or click heard from your coil 
when the cover is removed and the fly-wheel 
turned to an electrical contact; third, that there 
is plenty of gasoline in your tank, and fourth, 
that gasoline will drip from the carburetor when 
it is flushed by depressing the float in the cham- 
ber. 

If you are not able to locate the trouble by 
this time, remove the spark plug and make certain 
that there is a fat, violet-colored flame passing 
between the proper terminals when the contact is 
made and the large nut of the plug is laid on 
some part of the engine. This is important be- 
cause a healthy sound from the coil does not 
necessarily indicate that a spark is being deliv- 
ered from the plug. The coil will buzz when the 
current is delivered to it, irrespective of what 
becomes of the transformed eliectricity after- 
wards. 



46 THE MOTOR BOAT 

Reason it out this way: If the gasoline reaches 
the carburetor and is there united with the proper 
quantity of air, an explosive mixture must reach 
the top of the cylinder- — unless the rings are too 
badly worn or the packing at the base has blown 
out. Once in the cylinder, the mixture must ex- 
plode if a hot spark is delivered at the proper mo- 
ment, and when this occurs, the piston will be 
forced down and the flywheel will turn if the bear- 
ings or piston have not become heated and stick 
through lack of oil. 

These may seem like enough " if s " to cover a 
multitude of sins, but each of the little mono- 
syllables may be turned into a positive or nega- 
tive certainty by a few moments of the right kind 
of work. If, however, you think you find that 
all the " ifs " are certainties of the right kind, 
and still your motor doesn't run, you may then 
lay the trouble to " pure cussedness " — -until a 
man comes along who knows the least bit more 
than you and shows you a simple thing that you 
had overlooked. Then you will agree with the 
writer that " there's always a reason " — and gen- 
erally a very simple one, at that. 



CHAPTER ni 

SPEEDING UP THE MOTOE BOAT 

THE question of speed in a motor boat is 
an intricate one, as there are many fac- 
tors to be considered; and these do not al- 
ways give the results that are expected. A fleet 
of boats may be built, all of exactly the same size, 
constructed from the same patterns and 
equipped with the same make and size of motor, 
and yet there may be a consistent difference of 
from ten to twenty per cent, between the speed 
of the fastest and slowest. It is such results as 
these, consistent by virtue of their inconsistency, 
that puzzle not only the owner, but the designer 
and builder as well ; and it is safe to say that not 
a single one of the most expert of the latter can 
accurately determine what speed a motor boat 
will make until she is actually launched and tried 
out under the best of running conditions. 

If the expected results are not then obtained, 
it may require no small amount of experimenting 
before the real difficulty is found; when it is be* 
lieved that an increase in power will produce the 

47 



48 THE MOTOR BOAT 

desired speed, it may be discovered that this will 
not be nearly so effective as a simple change in 
the pitch of the wheel. It is small wonder, then, 
that both expert and amateur will be found mak- 
ing frequent changes in the details of his boat in 
search of that elusive extra mile-an-hour that he 
so much desires. 

The power plant will probably receive more 
than its share of praise or censure, according to 
the performance of the boat, and it is to this that 
the ordinary owner will first direct his attention 
if any increase in speed is desired. The greater 
the speed desired, the more powerful must be the 
motor installed to drive the boat. But it must 
be remembered that by power is meant the actual 
ability to do work, and not necessarily the size of 
the motor or bore and stroke of the cylinders. 
The old-style motors of ten horsepower were much 
larger and more clumsy than the present-day 
engines developing over twice that power, and 
while, under the same conditions, a greater bore 
and stroke will give an increased power, it is the 
actual test of the motor on the blocks that really 
counts. 

But a more powerful motor is not an Aladdin's 
lamp that may merely be rubbed with the starting 
crank to shoot the boat off at a greatly increased 
speed. There are, in fact, certain limits beyond 



SPEEDING UP THE MOTOR 49 

which a boat may not be driven, no matter how 
great the power installed, and this applies to the 
motor canoe and converted cat boat as well as to 
the especially designed racer. The tendency to 
" overpower " is one of the great faults of the 
average amateur and of many builders ; every de- 
sign has a certain speed beyond which any in- 
crease in number of cylinders or size of motor is 
an actual waste of power. 

An incident illustrating the futility of crowd- 
ing excess power into a hull that is already being 
driven at the top speed for which it was designed 
is found in the case of one of the well-known 
racers of a few years ago. This particular craft 
was thirty feet long, and when equipped with a 
forty-eight horsepower motor, could maintain an 
average of twenty-four miles an hour — a speed 
considered remarkable in those days. But her 
owner was not satisfied and decided that if he 
could get twenty-four miles with forty-eight 
horsepower, he would have no trouble in making 
a world-renowned racer if a one hundred and fifty 
horsepower motor was installed in her. 

He made the change, but instead of being able 
to travel over the water at the rate of thirty-five 
miles an hour, as he expected, he found that his 
craft could make scarcely a mile an hour more 
than she could with her old motor, and that the 



50 THE MOTOR BOAT 

greater part of the increased power only served 
to drive her into the water, instead of over it. 
When the motor was opened to its full power, the 
hull almost submerged itself in its own wave, and 
it was found that the fastest running was ob- 
tained when only about one-third of the available 
power of the engine was used. 

This, of course, was an extreme case of ig- 
norance on the part of owner and builder (or re- 
builder, rather), but results of this nature are 
liable to be obtained, to a less extent, when ap- 
plied to smaller boats of low power and slow 
speed. " Let well enough alone " is a good 
maxim to tollow, although this does not mean 
that better results cannot be obtained often by 
increasing the power of a motor boat. Many 
hulls are not equipped with an engine sufficiently 
large to obtain the speed for which the craft was 
designed. 

Even in this case it will require a greater 
amount of additional power than the owner will 
probably deem necessary, for the resistance to 
the passage of a boat through the water may be 
said, in general, to increase as the square of the 
speed, and the power necessary to obtain a 
greater speed has been found to vary as the cube 
of that speed. This, perhaps, is a sufficient rea- 
son «why the power in a certain hull may be dou- 



SPEEDING UP THE MOTOR 51 

bled with an attendant increase in speed of but 
one or two miles. 

On the other hand, even though the increased 
power necessary seems out of all proportion to 
the results obtained, this is not necessarily all 
lost. Take, for instance, the case of a heavy, 
thirty-foot pleasure boat, constructed more for 
service and comfort than for speed. A twelve 
horsepower motor may drive this craft at eight 
miles an hour, and yet double this power would 
scarcely serve to shove the heavy boat through 
the water a mile an hour faster. But while this 
added power would not exhibit its presence by a 
noticeable increase in the speed of the boat, 
other craft could be taken in tow with no ap- 
parent reduction in the original eight or nine- 
mile speed of the tug boat. 

The power plant of a boat can be increased or 
reduced to suit the desires of the owner, but once 
the shape and size of the hull have been decided 
upon, changes of this nature are not easily made. 
Consequently, the " lines " of the boat become 
really of foremost importance in a consideration 
of speed. The best designed hull for any prac- 
tical purpose is that which is sufficiently large 
and heavy to carry the load intended for it, is 
seaworthy, and yet one that will travel over the 
water and will make as little wave and disturbance 



52 THE MOTOR BOAT 

as possible. A boat which " pulls the whole river 
behind her " is either overpowered and is being 
forced through the water at an uneconomical 
speed, or she is poorly designed and her lines 
offer a greater resistance than should be the case. 

Although many boats are designed to " draw 
down " at the stern when under way, this char- 
acteristic should not be carried too far, as an un- 
due drag is then formed by the after half of the 
hull. The once popular canoe model of speed 
boat gave way to the torpedo stern, and this, in 
turn, has been replaced by the moderately wide 
hull with the " V-transom " stern, a design well 
adapted for almost any purpose, from a small, 
one-man " runabout " to a racer or a large 
cruiser. This model rises slightly at the bow at 
the higher speeds, but the under side of the stem 
is flattened so that the submerged portion is 
pushed over the surface of the water, rather than 
through it. 

This is the principle applied to the hydroplane, 
except that the under side of this model is shaped 
in a series of steps slanting from stern to bow so 
that, as the speed increases, these successive steps, 
or planes, will rise out of the water and the hull 
will finally be riding on a single surface that will 
glide, or slide, with much less attendant resistance 
than would be the case were the entire hull forced 



SPEEDING VP THE MOTOR 5S 

through the water. Other variations may be ap- 
plied to the design of the hydroplane, but all are 
developed on the theory that a hull that skims 
over the water meets with less resistance than 
does one that must move aside a great amount of 
water in order to push its way through. 

If a hull does not seem capable of attaining the 
speed expected of it, the impulse of many a 
builder seems to be to " cut her in two and add 
five or six feet to her length." Although this 
will be a time-consuming operation, it will be ef- 
fective to a certain extent, for the speed of a boat 
increases with its waterline length. On the other 
hand, the greater the beam of a boat, the slower 
will be its maximum speed. 

The observation of these two rules will result 
in the conclusion that a hull that is " stubby and 
square " will never succeed in landing a racing 
trophy if it is competing with a long, slim craft. 
But craft of " toothpick " proportions are un- 
stable and unseaworthy and can be of no possible 
interest to the man looking for a practical boat 
that will combine utility and speed in the proper 
degree. For pleasure craft of from twenty to 
forty feet in length, a beam of from one-fifth to 
one-sixth this measurement is a good proportion 
which will admit of both stability and medium 
speed. 



64 THE MOTOR BOAT 

An increased speed may sometimes be obtained 
from a motor boat by making changes other than 
those in size of engine or design of hull, and these 
are the refinements that help make the average 
pleasure boat of to-day from two to five miles 
faster than its sister of a few years ago. It has 
already been pointed out that the bow of a boat 
should not rise from the water more than a cer- 
tain amount when it is under way, and that the 
V-shaped transom was designed to keep the 
proper length of the hull under the water. But 
the tendency of all hulls when traveling at normal 
speed or above is for the stern to settle an undue 
amount, and in the case of old style boats with 
the fan-tail stern and such craft as the converted 
cat boat the shape of the after section does not 
prevent this undesirable dragging and consequent 
reduction in speed. 

This trouble can be easily remedied, however, 
by simply attaching a piece of sheet iron to the 
stern at the waterline so that it will act as a plane 
when the after portion of the hull tends to drag 
down. This piece of sheet iron should be cut the 
same shape as the stern deck so that no portion 
of it will project too far beyond the hull and be 
damaged by a wharf or rock, and it should be 
well supported by struts riveted to the iron at 
one end and screwed into the planking at the 
other. 



SPEEDING UP THE MOTOR 55 

The value of such an attachment has been 
demonstrated many times, but in no instance of 
my personal knowledge more strikingly than in 
the case of an old twenty-five foot cat boat 
equipped with a-twelve horsepower motor. When 
first installed, this motor seemed to be too power- 
ful for the craft, the stern dragged down, and 
eight miles an hour was the highest speed that 
could be obtained. A sheet iron plane was at- 
tached in the manner described above, and by 
forcing the hull to travel on the lines for which 
it was designed, the speed, with the same power 
plant, was increased to eleven miles an hour. 

Changing the location of the motor will some- 
times have the effect of obtaining a slight increase 
in the speed of a boat, particularly if the stern 
is found to draw down too much. A speedy boat 
will never be found with the motor located in the 
extreme stern, and the majority of racing boats 
have their power plant placed in a compartment 
well forward. Consequently, by moving a heavy 
motor from the stern to the bow, the position at 
which the boat travels will be changed on account 
of the shifted weight, and in many instances the 
speed will be noticeably increased. 

When an owner has made all changes imagin- 
able in his boat in the endeavor to obtain more 
speed ; when he has enlarged the power plant ; 
when he has refined the lines of the hull until it 



56 THE MOTOR BOAT 

seems to run with scarcely a ripple; when he has 
tuned up his engine; when he has smoothed and 
scraped the planking and given it its coat of fric- 
tion-reducing paint, there always remain the possi- 
ble surprises to be found by putting on a new 
propeller. This is not a complicated or difficult 
operation, and yet sometimes it may be the most 
productive of results of any change imaginable. 

The propeller, of course, does the actual work 
of driving the boat through the water and any 
fault in its design or unsuitability for that par- 
ticular hull or motor will result in an absolute 
waste of power. It also acts as the regulator of 
the number of revolutions at which the motor will 
run when " opened wide," and as there is a cer- 
tain normal speed at which any engine will oper- 
ate at the highest efficiency, the size and pitch 
of the propeller play an important part in ob- 
taining the best results from the power plant that 
is being used. 

The propeller blades are really the develop- 
ment of a screw, and the pitch would correspond 
to the coarseness of the threads. The pitch of 
a propeller, however, is measured in inches, and 
is considered as the distance a point on the blade 
would travel in a line parallel to the shaft during 
one complete revolution of the wheel. In other 
words, the pitch is the distance that the propeller 



SPEEDING UP THE MOTOR 57 

itself would travel during one revolution, in a line 
extending along its axis, if the movement were 
made in a medium in which there is no "give," 
or slip. 

The greater the pitch of a propeller, then, the 
greater will be the resistance offered to its turn- 
ing; but, within certain limits, if this increased 
resistance is overcome, the boat will be shoved a 
greater distance through the water at each revo- 
lution. Consequently, " easy " pitch and high 
revolutions would produce the same results as 
" heavy " pitch and slower speed of rotation — 
always within certain limits. The longer and 
wider the blade of a propeller, the greater will be 
the resistance to its revolution. The increased 
blade surface, however, will exert a greater thrust 
upon the hull with each revolution, and conse- 
quently a large wheel is " faster," for the same 
number of turns, than a small one. 

There are four things to be considered, then, 
in connection with a propeller, as follows: Size, 
or diameter of the wheel; shape of the blades; 
pitch ; and number of blades. The first and third 
of these considerations are regulated by the nor- 
mal speed at which the motor will operate at its 
highest efficiency, always remembering that a 
wheel with too much pitch will work against itself 
and absorb power from the motor without deliver- 



58 THE MOTOR BOAT 

ing a corresponding increase in the speed of the 
boat. 

The problem of " too much pitch " will be bet- 
ter understood if it is remembered that " infinite 
pitch " would be represented by a wheel the blades 
of which were set at right angles to the plane of 
revolution, or parallel to the axis. The revolu- 
tion of such a wheel would absorb power with no 
resultant motion in either forward or reverse di- 
rection. 

Three-bladed propellers are used on the major- 
ity of motor boats, so this is a problem that need 
not give the owner much concern. 

For motors under three horse-power, how- 
ever, it is advisable to use a wheel having but two 
blades, as any greater number would necessitate 
the construction of so small a propeller that effi- 
cient results could not be obtained without reduc- 
ing the pitch to a very small degree. It is in the 
shape of the blades, then, that the greatest lati- 
tude of selection will be found, and here is ample 
opportunity for the trial of all manner of wheels. 

Whether the blade should be long and tapering, 
thin at the hub and thick at the end, or of uni- 
form width throughout the greater part of its 
length, is largely a matter of opinion; a certain 
shaped propeller that will give excellent results 
with one boat would be utterly unsuited to a 



SPEEDING UP THE MOTOR 59 

craft of different proportions and character, even 
though the proper size of wheel should be selected. 
But, provided a well-designed wheel can be ob- 
tained, of approximately the proper pitch and of 
such a diameter that the motor will be held to its 
normal revolutions, the owner need not worry as 
to what results could be obtained with a different 
propeller, for, except in the case of racing boats, 
it is not probable that any change would make a 
difference of more than five per cent in the speed 
of the craft. 

Every propeller should be so placed that its 
entire periphery will at all times revolve well be- 
low the surface of the water. This is necessary 
in order that the propeller may have a solid body 
of water against which to exert its push. Unless 
this distance is at least six inches, in wheels of 
sixteen inches in diameter, and over, a vigorous 
whirlpool, or eddy, will be formed that will re- 
duce the efficiency of the blades as they revolve 
past this point of disturbance. 

Another reason for placing the propeller rather 
well below the surface of the water will be seen 
on a rough day when, if the wheel is not properly 
located, it will be uncovered with every wave and 
so reduce the resistance on the motor that the lat- 
ter will be allowed to race at each forward lunge 
of the boat. This tendency will be overcome if 



60 THE MOTOR BOAT 

the wheel is placed several feet forward of the 
extreme stern of the hull, but as high a speed or 
efficiency will not be obtained in this position as 
would be the case were the propeller located as 
far aft as possible. 

When a boat is tested out for speed, the trial 
should always be made in a comparatively large 
body of water, for the full efficiency cannot be 
obtained in shallow or narrow streams on account 
of the drag of the following waves on the bottom 
or shores of the waterway. Even the fastest 
racer would not be able to travel more than ten 
or twelve miles an hour through a narrow canal, 
and at this speed it would " pull the whole river 
behind it." 

Owing to the greater buoyancy of salt water, 
the speed of a boat in this medium is generally 
considered to be greater than that on inland lakes 
and rivers. This is true to a certain extent, but 
the difference is usually over-estimated, for it has 
been found by tests that the respective speeds 
are as 5.66 is to 6,5 — an almost negligible propor- 
tion except in exceedingly fast racers. 

The foregoing discussion regarding speed in 
motor boats is not intended to make any own^r 
dissatisfied with the present performance of his 
craft, for that would be to sow the seeds of dis- 
content. But there are many boats in use that, 



SPEEDING UP THE MOTOR 61 

with a little refinement or change in equipment, 
will travel faster with the same expenditure of 
power, and if these details are attended to, a more 
efficient, as well as a more economical craft will 
be the result. 



CHAPTER IV 

* GETTING MORE POWER FROM A NEW MOTOR 

LET the motor boatman not be deceived for 
a moment into thinking that we are about 
to divulge some secret formula whereby 
he may increase the power developed by his en- 
gine and thereby surprise his friends with two or 
three miles an hour added to the speed of his 
craft. Such formulas do not exist, and while 
some speed maniacs may recommend " dope " in 
the fuel tank, the addition of any stimulant is 
almost certain eventually to result in a weakened 
motor. The power developed by a motor that 
is in perfect condition cannot be increased, and 
it is wasted time to labor with an engine that is 
doing its best. The gasoline motor is not like the 
steam engine, the power of which can be increased 
by added steam pressure, and its limitations are 
sharply defined by its bore, stroke, compression 
and efficiency of its joints, packing, air passages, 
and bearings. 

This would seem to indicate that a new motor 
offers no opportunity for improvement except 
62 



GETTING MORE POWER 63 

during the first few weeks of running required to 
" wear it in " and increase the efficiency of the 
moving parts and that no attention will be re- 
quired by it until the time for the first spring 
overhauling. This should be true, and every man 
who has spent time, thought, and money on the 
selection and purchase of a new motor has the 
right to expect that all adjustments have been 
made and all faults remedied at the factory and 
that his acquisition will develop its maximum 
power and run at its highest efficiency from the 
outset. 

No factory is absolutely infallible, however, and 
even though the motor may have been in perfect 
condition when it was shipped, the knocks and 
jars of transportation, loading and unloading 
may loosen some of the parts or shake them out 
of adjustment. Added to this, the amateur may 
make some mistakes at the outset when trying to 
start his new motor, and even though the results 
of these mistakes may not be apparent for some 
time, they may contribute to a decided decrease 
in the power of the machine. Then, too, a poor 
quality of cylinder oil may have been used which 
has become gummed during the long interval be- 
tween the final factory test of the motor and its 
trial by its new owner ; and dozens of other trou- 
bles and accidents may contribute to the poor 



64 THE MOTOR BOAT 

performance of a power plant from which great 
feats have been expected — and can be obtained 
when the seat of the disturbance is reached and 
matters remedied. 

Assuming that the motor runs, let us suppose 
that it does not develop the power for which it 
was designed. With good gasoline and a " fat " 
spark, this loss of power nine times out of ten 
will be due to faulty compression. Power cannot 
be obtained without sufficient compression in the 
cylinder, for it is upon this that the force of the 
explosion depends and a leak allows this useful 
energy to escape and be wasted absolutely. The 
compression, of course, can be felt by the resist- 
ance offered to turning the flywheel when all valves 
and cocks in the cylinder are closed. If there is 
more than a single cylinder, the one offering the 
least resistance is certain to be that in which 
the trouble will be found, for under normal con- 
ditions the compression should be the same in 
all on the up-stroke of the piston. 

If the motor has but one cylinder, its compres- 
sion-retaining ability may be determined by turn- 
ing the flywheel until the point of greatest resist- 
ance is reached and then holding it there until it 
can be moved past the " dead center " easily. If 
the motor possesses good compressison an appre- 
ciable time will elapse before the resistance is re- 



GETTING MORE POWER Q5 

duced sufficiently to enable the flywheel to be 
turned over, but it must be remembered that even 
in the best of engines the compression will escape 
eventually. But if the flywheel may be turned 
over slowly without meeting any vigorous resist- 
ance, it may be safely assumed that good compres- 
sion is a negligible quantity in this case and the 
leak should be sought. 

The average compression in an ordinary gaso- 
line engine is about sixty pounds per square inch, 
which would amount, in a four-inch cylinder, to 
a total resistance of about 750 pounds. But if 
the flywheel by which the piston is moved is two 
feet in diameter and if the crank is two inches long 
(assuming a four-inch stroke), the actual force 
necessary to be applied at the rim of the flywheel 
would be but 125 pounds; and if momentum has 
been attained by giving the flywheel a swing, this 
resistance can be overcome comparatively easily 
and the force of compression will not be found 
to be as formidable as the figures would have it 
appear. But by keeping the comparative values 
of these figures in mind and remembering that 
even the strongest compression will gradually es- 
cape past the piston rings if the piston is held 
near the top of its stroke, even the rankest ama- 
teur can learn to disinguish between good and 
poor compression. 



ee THE MOTOR BOAT 

It is to the piston rings that most of the loss 
of compression can be laid. These rings are sup- 
posed to form a tight joint between the cylinder 
walls and piston, for the latter, having to move 
freely and being subject to variable expansion 
(due to the heat, cannot be machined to a perfect 
fit. The rings, on the other hand, being springy, 
can adapt themselves to any temperature that 
will be found within the cylinder walls — ^provided 
they receive sufficient lubrication. 

The maj ority of motors are tested after manu- 
facture and are shipped to the purchaser with the 
piston and rings thoroughly oiled and a certain 
amount of lubricant in the base. In the case of 
a new machine, however, the moving parts of 
which are liable to be " stiff " at first, it is better 
to be on the safe side and introduce plenty of 
fresh oil into the crank case and to the piston and 
rings before the motor is started. 

But in spite of these precautions, one of the 
rings may have become " stuck " in its groove so 
that it no longer automatically fits the curvature 
of the cylinder walls and consequently the com- 
pression and the exhaust gases of the explosion 
are allowed to escape past it. There will prob- 
ably be three or four rings on each piston and 
the motor may run with the remainder of these in 
working condition, but the best results cannot be 



GETTING MORE POWER 67 

obtained unless all are loose in their grooves. 
Consequently it is for a stuck ring that the owner 
is to search first when he finds that one cylinder 
fails to holds its compression as well as its com- 
panions. 

The only certain way of locating and remedy- 
ing the trouble is to " get at " the rings. In 
the case of a motor having a solid cylinder head, 
this may be done by removing the entire cylinder 
casting from the base of the machine, thus leav- 
ing the piston and rings exposed. If the motor 
has a removable head the connecting rod may be 
loosened from the crankshaft by reaching through 
the hand-holes generally provided in the crank 
case and unscrewing the nuts that hold the two 
halves of the bearing in place. After this has 
been done the piston may be pulled out through 
the top of the cylinder and the rings will be ready 
for inspection. 

Each ring should be loose and should not bind 
in any portion of its groove, whether it be pushed 
in or out or be turned either way as far as the 
pin forming the stop at the notches in the end will 
allow. If it is found that a ring is stuck in its 
groove it is probably due to a deposit of carbon 
and gummed oil rather than to any mechanical 
defect. Great care should be taken in loosening 
the ring and the gummy substance should be dis- 



68 THE MOTOR BOAT 

solved by the application of kerosene or gasoline 
at every accessible portion. 

Then a small screwdriver may be placed under 
one of the free portions between the ring and its 
groove and gradually v/orked around until the 
remainder is loosened; but the ring should never 
be bent out from its end, as this would be almost 
certain to snap it in two. A broken ring is not 
only useless, but will do actual harm if the motor 
is allowed to run under these conditions, and as 
it is not a particularly easy matter to fit a new 
one in place, rings should be removed only with 
the greatest care. 

Even though the sticking is caused only by a 
small amount of gummed oil that can easily be 
dissolved, the ring should be removed in order 
that it and its groove may be scraped out and 
cleaned thoroughly. The ring should be thor- 
oughly loosened before any attempt is made to 
remove it and then it should be worked out gradu- 
ally in sections, wedging each part out with a stiff 
wire to prevent its return to the groove. When 
the ring gets entirely out of its groove it may be 
slid along the outside of the piston and off at 
the end, but if more than one ring is removed at 
a time care should be taken to distinguish them, 
as each should be returned to its own groove. If 
the motor is small and the ring is not too stiff, 



GETTING MORE POWER 69 

the latter may sometimes be removed by pulling a 
piece of stovepipe wire between the ring and pis- 
ton and following this action with the fingers of 
one hand to push the ring up on the piston as it 
leaves its groove. 

It may be that the ring has been hurriedly 
fitted at the factory and put in place without 
having been properly finished. This will cause 
it to stick in its groove, even though the oil has 
not gummed, and consequently it should be tested 
for a good fit before being returned to its place. 
After the carbon and gummed oil have been re- 
moved the ring may be tested for size without 
returning it to its groove by rolling it around in 
the groove so that each part will come in con- 
tact with the portion of the groove in which it 
ordinarily rests. In order to have these portions 
" register " the ring should be held upside down 
and started with one end placed against the pin 
forming the stop in the groove. 

Whenever there is the slightest binding between 
the sides of the ring and the groove such portions 
should be marked in order that the parts that 
need grinding may be determined. If it is found 
that the ring is a comparatively tight fit in its 
groove so that absolute freedom of motion cannot 
take place, it may easily be ground down with a 
piece of fine emery paper. This emery paper, or 



70 THE MOTOR BOAT 

cloth, should be laid on a flat surface and the 
ring placed upon it. Then, by pressing firmly 
upon the ring with the fingers and giving it a 
rotary sweep with the hand over the rough sur- 
face of the emery cloth, the side that is lying 
down will be ground off slightly. 

If the ring seems to be too thick throughout its 
entire length the pressure of all of the fingers 
should be evenly distributed, but otherwise only 
those portions at which the binding takes place 
should receive the greatest weight. By alter- 
nately testing the ring in the groove in the man- 
ner already mentioned and grinding the thick por- 
tions as described above, a perfect fitting ring 
and one that should do its share in holding com- 
pression for a long time to come may be obtained 
quite easily. 

If the entire cylinder has been removed to 
reach the piston a little care will need to be 
exercised when assembling the parts. After the 
rings are in place the piston should be moved to 
the bottom of its stroke and held in a vertical 
position with the engine bed while the cylinder is 
slid over it. The lower edge of the cylinder walls 
will probably be beveled to allow it to slide easily 
over the rings as they project from their grooves, 
but the cylinder must be set on very slowly and 
not forced, for any undue pressure will mar the 



GETTING MORE POWER 71 

edges of the rings and result in scored walls and 
eventual leakage of compression. 

Care should also be taken to keep the rings in 
their proper position with their notched ends, or 
joints, surrounding the small pin provided in each 
groove. If the ends of any ring move around 
beyond this pin forming a stop the joints of all 
rings may eventually fall in one straight line, in 
which case an easy escape for the compression 
would be furnished. The joints of adjoining 
rings should always be placed on opposite sides 
of the piston. 

If the cylinder has a removable head and the 
piston has been withdrawn in order to repair the 
rings, its return to its place may be greatly facil- 
itated by a simple device. The piston will set 
easily into the cylinder until the first ring is 
reached, after which it will be evident that each 
ring must be compressed tightly in order to fit 
within the cylinder walls. The device in ques- 
tion consists merely of a piece of annealed stove- 
pipe wire — which is flexible and yet strong — 
about a foot longer than the diameter of the pis- 
ton. Each end of this should be twisted around 
the middle of a wooden handle, which may be cut 
from a broomstick. 

By crossing the wire near the handles a loop 
will be formed which should be placed around the 



72 THE MOTOR BOAT 

ring that it is desired to compress after the piston 
has been set in position. When this is done a 
steady pull on the handles will furnish a leverage 
that will easily serve to compress the ring so that 
the piston will drop into place until stopped by 
the next ring. By dealing with all rings in the 
same manner the piston of even a large motor may 
be set in place in its cylinder in a surprisingly 
short time and with very little trouble. 

If all of the rings have been examined and It 
is found that the cause of the loss of compression 
does not lie with them, it is probable that some of 
the packing has been loosened or blown out, thus 
furnishing a vent for the escape of some of the 
gases. Of course, it is possible that the spark 
plug is not a good fit or that the relief or priming 
cock valve has loosened, but the escape of com- 
pression and exhaust gases from such an outlet 
would be so apparent when the motor is running 
that even the tyro would not look farther for 
the leak and would tighten these parts before 
examining the rings. 

Escape of compression through the packing of 
the cylinder can only occur in those motors hav- 
ing detachable cylinder heads. But such trouble 
is easily remedied and should not be considered 
as an offset to the many advantages possessed by 
this type of motor. When it is found that there 



GETTING MORE POWER 73 

Is a leak in the cylinder packing the head should 
be unbolted and both' surfaces thoroughly cleaned. 
The old packing that cannot be picked or torn 
off should be first soaked with kerosene or gasoline 
and then scraped with a putty knife, or other flat, 
broad-bladed instrument, until the top of the cyl- 
inder and the bottom of the cylinder head are 
perfectly smooth. 

Although the packing of the cylinder head is 
not directly exposed to the heat of the exhaust 
gases, the walls and surfaces between which it 
rests will become rather hot through conduction. 
But this " gasket " also serves as a packing for 
the water jacket between the cylinder and its head 
and consequently the joint must be waterproof 
as well as able to withstand an appreciable amount 
of heat. Asbestos and rubber packings are made 
especially for this purpose and either will give 
satisfactory service when cut to the proper size 
and shape and held securely in place by the bolts 
that pass through the cylinder head. 

One of the most effective packings, however, 
and one that is the easiest for the amateur to ap- 
ply, can be made from heavy, tough brown paper 
or drawing paper. Such a gasket will proA^e to 
be gas and watertight and will not be affected 
by the heat of the iron surfaces of the cylinder 
and its head between which it is placed. 



74 THE MOTOR BOAT 

The best manner in which to apply such a gas- 
ket is as a sort of shellac-and-paper sandwich of 
the " double-deck " variety, composed of several 
layers of each ingredient. In order to cut each 
piece to exactly the proper shape and size the 
paper should be laid over the top of the cylinder 
on the surface on which the gasket is to be placed. 
By holding the piece firmly in place and tapping 
the edges and outlines of the iron surface through 
the paper with the round or " peening " end of a 
machinist's hammer, the paper will be cut to the 
proper shape. The edges of all bolt holes and 
water jacket openings in the surface should also 
be tapped in this manner, but care should be 
taken not to strike so heavily that the threads of 
the bolt holes will be injured. The tapping should 
be sufficient to break the paper and care should 
be taken to prevent the gasket from moving before 
the entire outline is finished. 

Three or four gaskets should be made in this 
manner and then a coat of shellac should be ap- 
plied to the surface of the top of the cylinder. 
On this should be laid a gasket in exactly the same 
position as that in which it was cut so that all 
outlines, holes and openings will " register " and 
then the gasket itself should be shellacked. This 
should be continued until all gaskets are in place, 
each being separated from the others and from 



GETTING MORE POWER 75 

the Iron surfaces of the cylinder and head by a 
layer of shellac. 

The gaskets should be laid In place quIcMy be- 
fore the shellac will have an opportunity to dry. 
After this " sandwich " has been " built up " and 
the last gasket has been treated to its coat of 
shellac, the cylinder head should be bolted In 
place as tightly as possible. The motor should 
not be run for a few minutes until after the 
shellac has had an opportunity to " set." 

The above treatment Is almost certain to cure 
any case of leakage of compression from the cyl- 
inder proper and the renewal of this packing may 
cause an Increase of from ten to twenty-five per 
cent In the power developed by the motor. But 
there Is another source of trouble which Is often- 
times overlooked In the search for the missing 
horsepower. This Is the crank case compression, 
or the compression formed in the base by the 
down-stroke of the piston and used to force the 
charge upward Into the cylinder. This Is the 
principle used on what Is known as the " three- 
port " type of two-cycle motor, and while this 
compression does not amount to more than from 
ten to fifteen pounds per square Inch, the escape 
of even a small part of It Is vital, for It Is the 
actual explosive mixture In Its most concentrated 
form that Is lost. 



76 THE MOTOR BOAT 

Practically everyone who has had experience 
with this type of motor is familiar with the 
*' crank case explosion " that occurs whenever too 
weak a mixture is admitted to the engine. As a 
rule, such crank case explosions are more start- 
ling than harmful, but occasionally the force of 
the pre-ignited gases will blow out a part of the 
packing between the crank case and removable 
base plate with which nearly all motors are pro- 
vided in order to render the connecting rod bear- 
ing accessible. If it is found that this gasket has 
been so damaged a new one may be cut out in the 
same manner as that described for the cylinder 
head packing, but it is better to use only one 
layer of heavy paper rather than several gaskets 
of a lighter weight. 

As it is frequently necessary to reach the inte- 
rior of the crank case by removing the base plate, 
the gaskets for this portion should not be shel- 
lacked. This gasket, however, is not subjected 
to high pressures and does not need to be abso- 
lutely watertight and consequently the application 
of oil or grease on both sides of the packing will 
serve the purpose almost as well as will shellac and 
at the same time will prevent the gasket from 
sticking to the base plate or crank case when 
the former is removed. 

As a further precaution against the escape of 



GETTING MORE POWER 77 

crank case compression, none of the plugs, oilers, 
and pipes leading to the base of the motor should 
be allowed to jar loose. It may sometimes hap- 
pen that the valve on an oil cup will become stuck 
and allow the compression to force its way back 
against the lubricant, but such a condition will 
generally be indicated by a very apparent splut- 
tering and bubbling. 

It is not only the fact that a leak in the crank 
case allows a part of the incoming charge to es- 
cape that reduces the power of the motor, but 
the dilution of the remaining mixture, as well, will 
cause irregular running of the engine. On the 
up or compression stroke of the motor, a partial 
vacuum is formed in the crank case. This vac- 
uum should be filled only by the incoming gas, 
which has already been properly mixed at the 
carburetor, but any leak in the crank case will 
furnish an entrance through which air will find 
its way and thus dilute the explosive charge. 

With the rings, gaskets, oil cups, and oil-hole 
plugs in good condition, there is only one route 
by which air can be taken into the crank case, 
other than by way of the carburetor. This is 
through the crank shaft bearings, for if these 
have become loosened or worn, an easy passage is 
formed for the escape of the gas and the admis- 
sion of the outside air. The crank shaft bear- 



78 THE MOTOR BOAT 

ings, of course, should not be set too tight, or they 
will bind and soon become worn, but on the other 
hand, there should be no perceptible " play " be- 
tween the crank shaft and its bearing surfaces. 

Under proper conditions, the film of oil that 
should be kept on the bearings from the lubricator 
or from the crank case will serve to make an air- 
tight joint between the shaft and the surfaces 
on which it turns. But let even one bearing run 
for only a short time without oil, and the softer 
bronze or babbit metal will become worn, 
" chewed," or " burned out " in an astonishingly 
short space of time ; and even though the normal 
supply of oil be resumed, a new bearing will al- 
most certainly be required. This furnishes, to 
the amateur, one of the most puzzling causes of 
loss of power in a motor, and while the installa- 
tion of a new bearing will render the engine as 
sturdy and vigorous as ever, the inaccessibility 
of this part of the motor makes the bearing the 
last place to which the motor boatman will look 
for power leakage. It is only when he has ex- 
hausted every other resource and has proved to 
his own satisfaction that the rings, packing, and 
other joints are tight that the novice will realize 
the important part that properly-set crank shaft 
bearings play in the behavior of his two-cycle, 
threie-port motor. 



GETTING MORE POWER 79 

Many an owner has claimed that he has ob- 
tained greatly increased power from his motor 
by a change in carburetors, but, as a rule, this 
is probably due as much to imagination as to any 
material advantage gained. When a good motor 
leaves the factory, it is supposed to be provided 
with a carburetor of the proper size and type, 
and, as a rule, the less " monkeying " with this 
part of the engine, the better. But the carburetor 
equipment is designed for a certain normal speed 
of the motor, and it may be that, owing to a 
slight change in the pitch or size of the propeller, 
the motor will " turn up " faster than was the 
case in the factory trials. In this event, the car- 
buretor with which the motor was originally pro- 
vided may not have a sufficiently large air open- 
ing to supply all of the cylinders with enough 
mixture at this increased speed, and in conse- 
quence the engine may " starve." 

The remedy, of course, lies in the change to a 
larger carburetor, but this should not be installed 
until it is made comparatively certain that the 
motor really is " starving." A motor suffering 
from this ailment will run well when throttled, 
but on the high speeds will miss and backfire and 
seem to suffer from lack of fuel in somewhat the 
same manner as has doubtless been noticed when 
the gasoline supply is about to become ^hausted. 



80 THE MOTOR BOAT 

These few hints on the common causes of the 
loss of power in a new motor should not make 
owners dissatisfied with their purchases and won- 
der if thej are " getting their money's worth," 
for " leave well enough alone " is a motto that 
could be applied to good advantage by many a 
power boatman who sets out to discover the source 
of a supposed loss of power, only to find that his 
craft was doing its best in the first place and 
that his hoped-for improvements turn out to be 
serious handicaps. 



CHAPTER V 

HOW TO INSTALL A MARINE POWER PLANT 

THERE is a certain fascination about the 
work we do ourselves that makes the en- 
joyment of the man who chugs along at 
seven miles an hour in his little two-horsepower, 
home-made motor boat equal to, if not greater 
than, that of the millionaire who sits at the wheel 
of his twenty-eight-mile-an-hour racer and gives 
his " dust " to every other craft in sight. The 
difference in speed between the two boats may be 
great and the difference in price greater, but the 
sense of ownership and pride is the same, and the 
one can speak as boastfully of " my motor boat " 
as can the other — for is not that craft which is 
the product of his brain and labor and the skill of 
his hands more truly his than the one which 
merely represents a certain cash investment? 

There are many men who, owning a staunch 
sailboat, skiff, or canoe, desire to replace the old 
wind and muscle power with something which is 

81 



82 THE MOTOR BOAT 

at least stronger and less easily tired than these 
fickle human energies. The result will be seen in 
the number of former " non-power " craft con- 
verted into good, bad, or indifferent motor boats 
by the installation of a small gasoline engine. 
By this it is not meant that the best way to build 
a motor boat is to buy an old hull and to stick 
therein a cheap or second-hand motor, for unless 
one or the other of these is already on hand, it 
will be far less expensive in the end to purchase 
a new craft outright. It is only for those who 
already own a good hull of some kind and desire 
to change the power that the proper installation 
of a good motor offers the possibilities of a cheap 
and efficient power craft. 

Whether the craft resulting from the combina- 
tion of a certain motor and a certain hull will be 
a success or not depends almost as much upon 
the manner of the installation of the one in the 
other as upon the quality and kind of these parts 
of the completed motor boat. A well-made hull 
of good design may be almost ruined by a poor 
motor, while the highest-priced engine on the 
market will be of little avail in any boat if proper 
attention has not been given to the details of 
the bed, log, stuffing box, arrangement of the 
shaft and piping, and other features of a marine 
engine installation. 



HOW TO INSTALL 83 

With the sailboat, skiff, or canoe already on 
hand, the first problem that presents itself is 
the selection of the proper size and kind of motor 
to be installed. This problem will not be a seri- 
ous one if it is remembered that too much power 
is far worse than too little and that it is better to 
jog along comfortably at seven miles an hour 
than it is to have both occupants and hull shaken 
to pieces in an effort to obtain ten miles with a 
larger engine. The average sailboat, skiff, or 
canoe is not designed for high speed or the appli- 
cation of great power and it is useless to consider 
the conversion of any one of these hulls into a 
** racer "—both because the construction will not 
admit of the installation of a large engine and 
because the general lines of such a model are not 
suited for travel through the water at a rate 
more than one and one half to two times greater 
than that for which it was originally intended. 

For ordinary purposes, then, it may be stated 
that a one-horsepower motor is sufficient for a 
canoe, twice that power is ample for a skiff, and 
an engine developing twelve horsepower should 
be enough for a twenty-five foot sailboat. Of 
course hulls of these models which are made espe- 
cially for the installation of power would not be 
affected by these limits, and occasions may arise 
in which the use of considerably larger engines 



84 THE MOTOR BOAT 

than those mentioned may be found advisable. 
The above figures, however, will apply to the case 
of the average man who owns a good hull which 
he desires to convert into a power boat. 

For all hulls under thirty or thirty-five feet in 
length, the two-cycle motor is the best form of 
power plant, for in these cases low initial cost 
and simplicity of construction are preferable to 
economy of operation. While it does not pay to 
put a poor motor in any hull, it is equally absurd 
to purchase an expensive four-cycle engine for in- 
stallation in a boat which, at the best, was de- 
signed only for eight or ten miles an hour. 

Of course, if the four-cycle motor is already on 
hand, or a good one can be obtained at a bargain, 
the situation is changed, for it is chiefly the higher 
initial cost of this type of engine that excludes it 
from competition in a case like this with the 
simpler two-cycle motor. With the field thus re- 
stricted to a certain type and size, the selection 
of the proper motor for the converted hull is a 
matter of reliability and substantial construction 
— and these are qualities which will be found in 
the majority of marine engines built to-day. 

The most important part of the installation of 
a motor in a boat is the bed. If these hulls were 
not originally intended to be power driven and 
cannot accommodate a. large motor because of 



HOW TO INSTALL 86 

the excessive vibrations, it is evident that what- 
ever engine is installed should be so arranged and 
placed that these vibrations will be reduced to a 
minimum. Even the seams of a stout sailboat 
may be opened and the planking and rivets loos- 
ened because of the violent shakes and throbs 
transmitted throughout its whole length by a 
large or poorly installed motor. When you add 
to this difficulty the fact that no pleasure can be 
found in riding in a craft having such excessive 
vibrations, it will be seen that upon the proper 
installation of the motor depends, not only the 
life or endurance of the hull itself, but the com- 
fort of the passengers and the degree of useful- 
ness of the boat as a pleasure vehicle. 

Even the smoothest running and most perfectly 
balanced motor is bound to vibrate when running 
under load, and when improperly installed, such 
a piece of perfect mechanism may be placed on a 
par with the worst bone shaker that ever deserved 
a grave in the junk heap. There should not be 
the slightest looseness between the engine base, its 
bed, and the hull and keel of the boat, for such a 
condition will be aggravated by the running of 
the motor and in a short time the whole power 
plant will be shaken loose and the shaft may be 
sprung or weakened. 

In the effort to keep down weight in an in- 



86 THE MOTOR BOAT 

stallation of this kind, the tendency seems to 
be to select blocks of wood and timbers that are 
entirely too light, and the result is an engine bed 
which, while probably of the proper shape, is 
not sufficiently heavy to absorb the vibrations. 
It is far better that the bed should be composed 
of timbers unnecessarily heavy rather than that 
the motor should be forced to run on too flimsy 
a foundation; the disadvantage of the extra 
weight will be more than counter-balanced by the 
longer life of the hull and the increased comfort 
of the passengers. Of course this does not mean 
that " three-by-sixes " should be placed in a canoe, 
but on the other hand it would be far better to 
use these heavy timbers in the little craft than to 
employ crosspieces and stringers scarcely larger 
than the " lath and scantling " found in some of 
the converted canoes and skiffs. 

While no definite rule can be given as to the 
size of the timbers to be used in the engine bed, in 
general it may be said that pieces less than one 
and one half Inches thick are insufficient for any 
power plant, while twelve and fifteen horsepower 
motors may require stuff three and more inches 
in thickness. A good deal depends upon the de- 
sign of the motor; a ten-horsepower, single cyl- 
inder, heavy-duty engine, for instance, would re- 
quire a heavier bed than a motor in which the same 



HOW TO INSTALL 87 

power was distributed among two or more cylin- 
ders. 

The size of the stuff to be used also depends 
much upon the kind of wood, a bed of soft pine 
requiring heavier timbers than one in which oak 
is employed for the same motor. Oak is prob- 
ably the most solid and substantial engine bed, 
although for small motors installed in light canoes 
or skiffs teak is sometimes preferred. The latter 
is more expensive, however, and will seldom be 
found except in the higher-priced, " ready-made " 
motor boats. White pine, although used in some 
of the cheaper grades of boats, is too light and 
soft for constant service and the bolts and lag 
screws are liable to work loose much sooner than 
would be the case were a harder wood employed. 
For the larger boats, when oak is unavailable or 
too expensive, rough hemlock timbers will be 
found to give good service in an engine bed and 
to form a satisfactory substitute for any better 
grade of wood. 

Of equal importance with the size and kind of 
material used is the manner in which the pieces 
are arranged to form the engine bed. The general 
form of the bed should be such that the vibra- 
tions from the engine are distributed over as great 
a length of the hull as is practicable. A motor 
which is set on a bed no larger than the engine 



88 THE MOTOR BOAT 

base will concentrate its vibrations on that one 
small section of the hull on which the foundation 
is installed; the consequent shaking of the entire 
boat will be much greater than would be the 
case were the result of the impulses distributed 
over a greater area. 

In far too many of the ready-made motor boats 
of the cheaper grade the engine bed is merely a 
square, boxlike aifair to the upper edges of which 
the engine base is bolted and forms the cover, 
as it were. Such a construction can give no per- 
manence or solidity to the foundation and is more 
often the cause of a rattle-box sensation and 
sound in the craft than is a poorly designed 
motor. 

At first glance, it might seem absurd even to 
consider the conversion of an ordinary twenty- 
five foot catboat into a power craft, for its broad 
beam and general tublike and bulky appearance 
naturally indicate that the energy of any motor 
would be wasted in trying to drive it more than 
four or five miles an hour. Appearances are de- 
ceptive, however, for such a hull when slightly 
altered at the stern and equipped with a prop- 
erly installed motor of ten or twelve horsepower 
can comfortably carry a dozen persons at the rate 
of ten miles an hour, or better. The decks would, 
of course, have to be cut down in order to give 



HOW^ TO INSTALL 89 

a greater capacity to the cockpit, but this merely 
involves work that almost any carpenter can per- 
form. 

The main part of the engine bed for a craft of 
this kind should consist of two oak or hemlock 
timbers from twelve to eighteen feet long. These 
should be " three-by-sixes " and should be set on 
edge along the bottom of the boat on either side 
of the keel and at a distance apart about six 
inches greater than the width of the engine base. 
Each should be secured to the hull by means of 
long bolts and nuts passing entirely through the 
timber and the ribs and planking of the boat. 

On the outside of the hull where the ends of 
the bolts pass through the planking, washers 
should be placed and the nuts screwed on tightly, 
both being countersunk so that the hole may be 
plugged afterwards and the entire surface made 
smooth. These bolts should pass through at least 
every other rib over which the timbers are set, 
for it is upon these that the solidity of the engine 
bed depends. 

The crosspieces upon which the engine itself 
is placed do not come in contact with the hull but 
are secured directly to the long timbers. These 
crosspieces, two, three, or four in number, depend- 
ing upon the length of the engine base, should 
be about the same width and thickness as the 



90 THE MOTOR BOAT 

long timbers and of such a length that, when 
standing on edge, the ends fit snugly down be- 
tween the large pieces. They should be secured 
in this position by long " lag screws " passing 
through the large timbers and into the ends of 
the crosspieces. The various crosspieces may be 
trimmed down to allow for the required slant of 
the motor in order that it may " line up " with 
the propeller shaft. 

By means of this construction the weight and 
vibrations of the motor are distributed over a 
length of hull equal to the length of the large 
timbers, and if the motor is securely fastened to 
the different crosspieces by means of heavy lag 
screws, neither power plant nor bed can be shaken 
loose easily. This same principle should be ap- 
plied to the construction of beds for smaller 
motors in skiffs and canoes, but it is manifestly 
impossible to distribute the vibrations over so 
great a proportion of the length of the hull as is 
the case with the installation in the catboat. 

In the larger boat most of the engine bed is 
placed under the floor, and the long timbers are 
consequently not in the way. In canoes, skiffs, 
and other boats not large enough for a flooring, 
however, the long pieces would interfere seriously 
with the carrying capacity of the craft, and con- 
sequently these timbers cannot be over four or 



HOW TO INSTALL 91 

five feet long. Even this length may seem to oc- 
cupy an undue amount of space, but this sacrifice 
is preferable to the excessive vibrations and dis- 
comfort that would be sure to accompany the use 
of a shorter bed. By means of a little ingenuity, 
this seemingly waste space between the ends of 
the long timbers may be utilized as a seat and 
locker for tools and engine supplies. 

The location of the motor is a matter which 
rests entirely with the owner, depending upon the 
purposes for which he intends to use the boat. 
The majority of low-priced, ready-made boats 
have the engine installed in the extreme stern, but 
in the case of the converted canoe, skiff, and sail- 
boat the motor may be located in almost any por- 
tion of the cockpit desired. It will generally be 
found desirable to locate the motor in the extreme 
stern of the canoe, for the carrying capacity of 
such a craft is none too large at the best. 

In the skiff, on the other hand, the best design 
seems to be to place the engine just aft of the 
forward, or oarsman's seat, and to operate the 
boat from this position. This leaves the middle 
seat and the comfortable stern seat available for 
three or four passengers and is a design popular 
v/ith guides and fishermen who have converted 
their old rowboats into motor skiffs. 

Another advantage of this location is found in 



92 THE MOTOR BOAT 

the fact that the average skiff is not designed for 
a speed much in excess of the four or five miles 
an hour attained in rowing, and when the motor 
is installed and a speed of double this amount is 
reached, the boat tends to " draw down " at the 
stern. The skiff will not run as well in this posi- 
tion, and it is consequently advisable to shift the 
weight so that the bow will be brought to its nor- 
mal level — a condition which is more easily 
obtained by placing the motor and operator well 
forward. 

The tendency for the stern of a boat to draw 
down when the craft is under higher speed than 
that for which it was designed will be exemplified 
particularly well in the case of the converted cat, 
and even the weight of the motor and operator 
if placed forward will hardly serve to overcome 
this. Rather than transform the stern of the 
hull from the fantail shape to the torpedo or V- 
transom type, a wide sheet-iron plate, as described 
in a previous chapter, can be built out around the 
stern at the water line ; if this is sufficiently large 
and properly braced it will aid greatly in keeping 
the boat in its normal position while under way. 

The farther forward the motor is placed, the 
longer will be the propeller shaft required, for 
the wheel should revolve near the stern extremity 
of the hull, no matter in what part of the cockpit 



HOW TO INSTALL 93 

the motor is located. While this will increase the 
expense of installation by the cost of the extra 
length of shaft required, the additional outlay 
should be partly compensated for by the higher 
efHciency of the craft. 

Not only must the engine bed be solid, of the 
proper size and design, and rigidly secured to the 
hull, but the motor must be placed upon it in ex- 
actly the right position, for otherwise its crank 
shaft and the propeller shaft will not " line up." 
If these two shafts are not in perfect alignment, 
the propeller shaft will be sprung and there will 
be undue pressure created on the bearings in 
which it revolves. The result will be not only a 
great loss of available power, but " frozen " and 
ruined bearings as well. Where a universal joint 
is used as a coupling, the motor may be set per- 
fectly level and the propeller shaft may leave the 
boat at almost any angle desired, but this is an 
installation found only on the more expensive 
type of boats using four-cycle engines and is 
hardly to be considered in connection with a con- 
verted power craft. 

In order to line up the motor properly with 
the propeller shaft, the crosspieces of the bed 
should be so trimmed down that the base of the 
engine, or crank shaft, is inclined at approxi- 
mately the correct angle. Then, after the pro- 



94 THE MOTOR BOAT 

peller shaft is installed and occupies its perma- 
nent position, the motor may be tilted in either 
direction or raised or lowered until the couplings 
of the two shafts form a perfect joint. Thin 
pieces of tin or sheet-iron placed under the 
proper lug or portion of the base of the motor, 
between it and the crosspiece upon which it rests, 
will serve to change the position of the engine 
slightly; by various combinations of these in dif- 
ferent parts of the bed, the correct angle can be 
maintained. 

When the base is secured firmly in place by 
means of the lag screws, these thin pieces of iron 
or tin will be found to form a rigid support. It 
is not advisable, however, to trim down the cross- 
piece to such an extent that more than three or 
four thicknesses of these " shims " will be needed, 
for the motor should rest as closely to its wooden 
supports as possible. 

It is evident that great care must be taken at 
the point in the keel through which the propeller 
shaft passes in order to render it watertight and 
at the same time provide a bearing that will not 
restrict the free revolution of the shaft. This 
double service is accomplished by the " shaft log," 
which is a long block of wood through which the 
shaft passes. One end of this log is trimmed to 
the same angle as that made by the shaft and is 



HOW TO INSTALL 96 

attached to the keel by means of heavy lag screws 
or bolts. The joint thus made Is rendered water- 
tight by the copious use of white lead and paint. 

The shaft passes through a stuffing box at- 
tached to the square end of the log, and at this 
point also plenty of white lead should be used. 
A stuffing box is similar to a short section of 
brass pipe, threaded on one end to accommodate 
a cap of the same material. Inside this cap is a 
shoulder which fits closely around the shaft. If 
a suitable form of packing is wound around the 
shaft at the end of the brass-pipe section and the 
cap screwed down closely over it, a watertight 
joint and bearing will be formed in which the shaft 
can revolve with no more resistance to overcome 
than that furnished by the friction of the pack- 
ing. 

In some boats the log is attached inside the 
hull to the upper surface of the keel, while in 
others it is fastened in the water on the under 
side. In the former case the stuffing box is much 
more accessible and the packing can be renewed 
more easily than would be the case were the '' out- 
board " type used and is evidently the better de- 
sign for a converted motor boat. 

The outer end of the shaft near the propeller 
should be carried in a bearing supported in a 
" hanger " which is screwed to the keel of the 



96 THE MOTOR BOAT 

boat. This does not apply, however, to the fan- 
tail type of stern, in which the propeller is at- 
tached to the shaft very near the point at which 
it leaves the hull. The bearing in the hanger is, 
of course, water lubricated, and almost any good 
brass or bronze bearing material may be used as 
desired. 

It may happen, however, that some foreign sub- 
stance, such as a small piece of gravel, may find 
its way in between the bearing and the shaft and 
" chew " the latter to pieces and " freeze " the 
two together. To replace this destroyed bearing 
will rquire more time and trouble if it is of brass 
or bronze than would be the case were it composed 
of babbit metal; in consequence it is sometimes 
advisable to use the latter material for the hanger 
bearing. 

It is a good idea to mount tliis bearing on a 
pivot in the hanger so that it may turn through a 
small arc in the vertical plane. This will allow 
the shaft to adjust itself more easily to the posi- 
tion of the stuiiing box and will provide for any 
slight settling or warping of the keel of the boat, 
which would have a tendency to throw the two 
bearings out of line and thus induce an additional 
strain on the shaft. The shaft should be placed 
in its proper position in the stuffing box and 
hanger bearing before the motor is lined up with 



HOW TO INSTALL 97 

it, as it is more easy to adjust the latter than the 
former. 

It can be assumed that every sailboat, skiff, or 
canoe converted into a power craft is to be used 
as a " knockabout " and general utility and pleas- 
ure boat, that it will explore bays, rivers, and 
streams that an expensive racer would not dare 
to navigate, and that, in general, although by no 
means a fool, it will rush in where a better boat 
will fear to tread — through danger of treading 
on the bottom with its delicate hull and propeller. 
To obtain the fullest service from one of these 
converted boats, then, it is necessary to protect 
the propeller and rudder with a heavy skag, or 
bar of iron attached to the keel and the hanger 
or rudder post. 

The size of the gasoline tank necessary depends 
upon the power and kind of motor whose fuel it 
is to carry, and upon the purposes to which it is 
intended to put the boat. As a rule, a fifty- 
gallon tank is none too large for a heavy twenty- 
five- or thirty-foot converted sailboat driven by a 
twelve- or fifteen-horsepower, two-cycle motor, 
while a supply of five gallons of fuel is sufficient 
for the purposes to which a converted skiff or 
canoe would be put. 

In nearly every case the best location for this 
tank is in the bow, for the tendency of this pol*- 



98 THE MOTOR BOAT 

tion of the hull to rise out of water when under 
way provides a good " head," or pressure, to the 
flow of the fuel. The tank should be of galvan- 
ized iron or copper and should be thoroughly 
tested before installation to make certain that 
there are no small leaks at the soldered joints. 
It must be remembered that gasoline can find its 
way through an opening so minute as to be prac- 
tically watertight. 

In the converted skiff or canoe, the muffler 
should be located alongside the motor and the 
exhaust piped directly to it and thence to the open 
air through a hole cut in the side of the boat near 
the gunwale. If this outlet is placed too near 
the water line, the muffler and exhaust pipe are 
liable to be filled with water which will eventually 
find its way into the engine cylinder and cause 
difficulty in starting — if not actual harm to the 
motor. 

When the motor is located in the forward part 
of the hull, as will probably be the case with the 
converted skiff, the exhaust gases may be blown 
back upon the other occupants of the boat when 
the wind is quartering on the muffler side. This, at 
times, may be disagreeable, but there is no remedy 
for it unless the exhaust should be piped to the 
stern. This may be done in the converted canoe 
when the motor is located in the extreme stern, 



HOW TO INSTALL 99 

but the extra space utilized by the exhaust pipe 
running throughout the greater part of the 
length of the cockpit generally renders such a 
design impracticable for the converted skrff. This 
difficulty is easily overcome when a motor is in- 
stalled in a catboat or other medium-sized sail- 
boat, for here the exhaust pipe may be run under 
the floor to the stern of the hull and no valuable 
space will be occupied. 

The batteries and coil of the ignition system 
should be protected from rain and spray at all 
times, for these combine to form the " heart " of 
the motor, which is easily affected by the slightest 
moisture. When a boat is equipped with lockers, 
a place convenient and accessible and at the same 
time dry may be found easily. 

In the case of a converted skiff or canoe, how- 
ever, in which no locker space will be provided, a 
box containing the batteries and coil may be 
fastened under one of the cross seats. The open 
end of this box may be protected by means of a 
waterproof canvas or rubber flap attached to the 
edge of the seat and buttoned to the under side 
of the box. This will keep the contents of the 
box dry and at the same time will render them 
easily accessible. 

So much for making a bona-fide motor boat. 
Now for the motor as an aid to sails. With a 



100 THE MOTOR BOAT 

little gasoline engine, commonly known as a 
" kicker," installed in the sail boat, the craft may 
forge its way against tide or current that would 
give untold trouble were wind alone relied upon, 
harbors can be made without the necessity of wait- 
ing for a favoring breeze or a " tow," storms can 
be weathered safely in an open sea, and canals 
can be navigated at a speed that would cause the 
old tow-path mules to prick up their ears with as- 
tonishment and kick up their legs with the desire 
to avenge a wounded pride. If the cruise is to 
be long and the time short, so that a regular 
schedule must be maintained, the auxiliary power 
may be used to supplement the wind — if the craft 
is riding on an even keel — and in days of absolute 
calm, a consistent and regular, if slow, speed may 
be maintained. 

When installing a " kicker " it must not be for- 
gotten, first of all, that the craft is essentially a 
sail boat, and consequently none of its sailing 
qualities should be sacrificed to the auxiliary 
power. To be sure, a well designed racing yacht 
of fine lines could not be provided with even small 
power without some reduction in her original sail- 
ing speed, but the average cruiser, sloop, or 
" cat " will suifer very little from the proper In- 
stallation of the correct type and size of motor. 

As the Installation of power in a sail boat is only^ 



HOW TO INSTALL 101 

for auxiliary purposes, the question of speed 
should receive but secondary consideration. A 
sail boat model can never be converted into a 
speedy power craft hull, and if the anxious owner 
can once get the idea out of his head that it is 
" miles per hour " that he desires when he installs 
a " kicker," his task will be greatly simplified and 
cheapened. Six miles an hour is plenty of speed 
for an auxiliary sail boat of average size, and if 
a speed of eight or nine miles can be obtained 
without too great a sacrifice of cockpit space, 
the owner may be considered lucky in possessing 
a hull that so readily lends itself to power craft 
purposes. 

In general, it may be said that more than dou- 
ble the power would be required to drive the craft 
at eight miles an hour than w^ould be found neces- 
sary to obtain a speed of six miles, and as space 
on an ordinary sail boat is valuable, the increase 
in engine room would scarcely be warranted. Of 
course, if provision is made for auxiliary power 
when the craft is built, an engine of almost any 
size, within reasonable limits, may be installed, but 
the ordinary sail boat furnishes only a limited 
amount of room in which a " kicker " can be 
placed. 

In view of the fact that the power and speed of 
the boat are to be subordinated to roominess and 



102 THE MOTOR BOAT 

interior arrangement, the selection of the proper 
size and type of motor that is to form the 
"kicker" becomes an important subject. It is 
for this kind of work that the slow-speed, " heavy- 
duty " motor is particularly valuable, and its 
greater weight, which precludes its use in racing 
or semi-speed boats, does not form a sufficient ob- 
jection to overcome its many advantages as aux- 
iliary power in a sail boat. Such a motor can be 
obtained in greater horsepowers per cylinder 
than can the lighter, high-speed engines, and this, 
in itself, constitutes an important point in the 
selection of the proper power plant for the sail 
boat. 

Six or eight horsepower is a size of " kicker " 
often used, and while this can be obtained in a 
single cylinder in the slow-speed type, the same 
power would probably be distributed over two or 
three cylinders in a motor of the lighter and 
higher-speed design. To be sure, high-speed 
racing motors of eight, ten, and even higher, 
horsepower per cylinder will be found in many a 
boat, but these are parts of multi-cylinder en- 
gines developing a horsepower running well into 
the ?iundreds and representing a type of power 
plant totally different from that suitable as a 
" kicker." 

The most convenient out-of-the-way place in 



HOW TO INSTALL 103 

which auxiliary power may be installed in a small 
sloop or " cat " is the 'tween-deck space aft of 
the cockpit. This space between the keel and the 
stern deck will probably have been used as a 
locker, reached by a door opening from the cock- 
pit, and in this case but very little of the cockpit 
lining need be demolished. With the door closed, 
it would scarcely be noticed that the craft was 
equipped with auxiliary power, but of course the 
compartment should not be so tightly sealed when 
the motor is in operation. 

The distance between the engine bed and the 
stern deck above will, to a certain extent, deter- 
mine the size and type of motor that can be in- 
stalled. The slow-speed, heavy-duty, single-cyl- 
inder motor will have a comparatively long 
stroke, and consequently the entire engine will set 
somewhat higher than will one of the multi-cylin- 
der type. This stern compartment will, at its 
best, be rather difficult of access, however, and 
consequently the simplest and least complicated 
design of power plant should be used. Thus the 
single-cylinder motor, restricted in power to a 
size that will easily fit the 'tween-deck space, 
will probably constitute the most satisfactory 
*^ kicker " for the ordinary small sloop or cat 
boat. Whether this should be of the two or the 
four-cycle type depends upon the size of the mo- 



104 THE MOTOR BOAT 

tor to be installed and the amount of money that 
the owner is willing to invest in the conversion of 
his craft. 

Single-cylinder, two-cycle motors of five, six, 
and even higher, horsepowers give satisfactory 
service and are cheaper in initial cost than are 
their four-cycle cousins. The fuel consumption 
of the latter is less for a given power, however, 
and it is probable that in sizes above eight horse- 
power per cylinder the saving in the cost of gas- 
oline would warrant the greater investment. If 
it is intended to use the auxiliary power only in 
emergencies, however, the two-cycle motor will be' 
the better, regardless of its size, for the depre- 
ciation will be less and there will be fewer parts 
to be kept in running condition. 

Even a single-cylinder, two-cycle motor, and 
one used but infrequently, will require occasional 
attention, and it is well to make the removable 
bulkhead or door leading from the engine com- 
partment into the cockpit of sufficient size to 
enable the engine to be reached easily. If the 
deck above the motor is solid, the cylinder should 
not set so high but that a spark plug may be re- 
moved or a terminal changed. With any except 
the smallest type of motor, however, there will 
not be room between the keel and stern deck to 
allow the removal of a cylinder for the inspection 



HOW TO INSTALL 105 

or repair of piston rings, and the only method in 
this case is to loosen the engine from its bed and 
carry it forward to the open cockpit space where 
all parts may be reached easily. 

For this reason, it is probably the best plan to 
cut an opening in the stern deck above the motor 
of sufficient size to allow the removal of the cylin- 
der, and thus the " spring overhauling " will not 
demand the separation of the engine from its 
foundation. A trap door may cover this open- 
ing, but some form of watertight lapping should 
be used to render the motor as well protected 
from rain and heavy seas as though it were rest- 
ing under a thoroughly-caulked deck. 

If the cockpit is sufficiently large, the motor 
may be located in the stern portion where it will 
be much more accessible than would be the case 
were it placed 'tween decks. As the craft in 
which the motor is located is primarily a sail 
boat, however, some provision should be made for 
covering over the power plant when it is not in 
use. This may best be done by constructing a 
boxlike framework which, when covered, will com- 
pletely enclose the motor. 

The top, sides, and end should be held in place 
by means of hooks or buttons so that any portion 
may be removed to reach the desired part of the 
motor. This framework may be made to include 



106 THE MOTOR BOAT 

only the motor proper, in which case a smaller 
supplementary box should be used to enclose the 
flywheel, which may thus be covered, even when 
the motor is in operation. 

Even though the motor is used only as auxil- 
iary power, it will not belie its appellation of 
" kicker " unless the foundation is made suffi- 
ciently large and heavy. Inasmuch as this aux- 
iliary power will probably be a motor of the 
heavy-duty type, it is doubly necessary that the 
more powerful vibrations should be distributed 
over a large area of planking and ribs of the 
hull, and the same methods should be followed in 
installing the motor as those already described. 

The intake pipe for the circulating water may 
be let into the bottom plank near the keel at a 
point under the pump, while the discharge may be 
made through the muffler. This discharge jacket 
water will be turned into steam by the hot gases 
in the muffler, but the vapor will not be blown 
aboard except by a strong following wind. In 
which case, of course, the motor would not be 
needed. The exhaust pipe should leave the hull 
above the water line, and it is better that it should 
be led to the extreme stern of the boat. If neces- 
sary, however, the exhaust may be discharged di- 
rectly through the side opposite the motor, but 
in either case the pipe should be inclined slightly 



HOW TO INSTALL 107 

downward from the engine in order that the sys- 
tem will be self-draining and will free itself of any 
water which may have washed in through the 
outlet. 

The muffler may be introduced into any con- 
venient portion of the exhaust pipe line, but bet- 
ter results are obtained when this is located as 
near to the outlet as possible. Aside from the 
fact that but little valuable space is occupied, 
one of the chief advantages to be found with 
placing the " kicker " under the stern deck lies 
in the easy manner in which the piping is con- 
cealed and the consequent absence of any hot 
pipes which might otherwise be within too easy 
reach of some of the passengers or crew of the 
craft. 

In the average motor boat, the fuel tank is 
located under the bow deck. This is a safe loca- 
tion for it, but in the case of the sail boat 
equipped with auxiliary power, it might be in- 
convenient to place the fuel tank in a portion of 
the craft which is otherwise not affected by the 
installation of the *' kicker." While it is not well 
to have the gasoline tank placed so close to the 
motor or muffler that the fuel will become unduly 
heated before it reaches the carburetor, a well- 
made and non-leakable receptacle can be placed 
under the stern deck with perfect safety. It may 



108 THE MOTOR BOAT 

m 
be held in place bj means of metal straps secured 

to the underside of the deck planks or frame 
work, but care should be taken to make certain 
that the copper feed pipe is so fastened through- 
out its length that it cannot shake loose or break 
from the vibrations of the motor. 

A hole should be cut in the deck directly over 
the filling plug of the gasoline tank. This hole 
should be covered by means of a good-sized flush 
plate which, when unscrewed, will furnish an open- 
ing sufficiently large to enable a man to reach in 
his hand in order to remove the cap or plug of 
the tank. 

As long as the size of a single cylinder is lim- 
ited by the 'tween decks space, a double-cylinder 
engine may, of course, be used, but some de- 
signers and boat builders have found it advisable 
to instal a twin-screw power plant. In such a 
boat, two single-cylinder motors are mounted side 
by side, each of which drives a propeller inde- 
pendently of the other. The arrangement of 
the foundation will, of course, be different from 
that described for the single engine, but the prin- 
ciple of the distribution of the weight and vibra- 
tion will apply quite as well in one case as in the 
other. 

While the installation of a " kicker " is a com- 
paratively simple matter, the man who sails or 
runs a craft so equipped should bear in mind one 



HOW TO INSTALL 109 

precaution. If the motor is located 'tween decks 
or in any other enclosed compartment, the space 
should be aired thoroughly and frequently, 
whether the power plant is used or not. Oil and 
grease, and possibly gasoline, are almost certain 
to collect around the engine base, and the vapors 
from these are liable to form an inflammable mix- 
ture with the uncirculated air of the closed com- 
partment. After a motor has been run, the gas- 
oline in the float chamber of the carburetor grad- 
ually evaporates, but in the open air this will do 
no harm, as it is soon dispelled. This emphasizes 
the advantage of removable covers, doors, and 
deck plates in the engine compartment, for only 
in this manner can the enclosed space be aired 
properly. 

This precaution of starting a fresh air circu- 
lation through the motor compartment should be 
taken previous to running the engine each day. 
Even though the engine is not to be used for 
some time, the compartment should be aired every 
day or so. If to this caution be added the one 
against leaving greasy waste or rags in any part 
of the boat in which a free circulation of air can- 
riot be obtained, the danger from fire will be re- 
duced to a minimum and even the most apprehen- 
sive passenger may feel as free from nervousness 
when out in a " kicker " auxiliary sail boat as 
though gasoline were an unknown liquid. 



CHAPTER VI 



ACCESSORIES 



A CERTAIN man once bought a motor boat 
which was advertised as "furnished com- 
plete ready to run." It ran all right, but 
it was easier for him to stand up than to sit down 
on the hard, uncushioned seats and he had to take 
a dinner bell and a fish horn along to comply with 
the law regarding signals; by the time he had 
purchased all the " extras " needed to make the 
boat serviceable and comfortable in all kinds of 
weather he had spent a sum almost equal to the 
original cost of the boat — ^but he had as good an 
all-around craft as any yachtsman could reason- 
ably desire. 

It is not necessary to go to this extreme and 
buy all the " trimmings," but very few motor 
boats in their original condition are equipped 
with anything more than the attachments neces- 
sary for operating the motor and steering the 
hull, and an additional outlay is always required 
to obtain all the pleasures possible out of the 
craft. The " bare necessities " need consist only 

110 



ACCESSORIES 111 

of the proper number of lights, a whistle or other 
signal to comply with the law, and a life preserver 
or two. Cushions on all the seats may be a lux- 
ury, but if they are cork-filled and are not fas- 
tened to the boat, they may be made to take the 
place of life preservers, as a cushion two or three 
feet long has ample buoyancy to keep a person's 
head above water. 

The carrying of life preservers, whistle, and 
signal lights should not be a matter of law alone, 
however, for it is decidedly to the owner's interest 
to equip his boat with appliances which not only 
make for the safety of other craft in his vicinity, 
but for the safety of those on board his own boat 
as well. If life preservers are desired in addition 
to those which may be formed by the cork-filled 
cushions, a small " life ring " is probably the best 
form. These rings have an opening through 
them large enough to permit the admission of a 
man's arm and shoulder, and as they are small 
and compact they can be suspended from the roof 
of the canopy top, out of the way and yet ready 
for instant use. 

If the boat is inclosed or has a canopy top, it 
will probably be necessary to display three for- 
ward signal lights at night. Two of these must 
be placed beside vertical guards which serve to 
enable each to be seen only from the proper side. 



112 THE MOTOR BOAT 

In many boats these guards are permanent and 
the lights are fastened on at the side of the 
guard with a bracket. 

For a small craft, however, these guards are 
unsightly in the daytime while not serving any 
practical purpose, and it is well to make them 
collapsible so that they will not show when out of 
use. This may be done best by making each 
guard of a sheet of zinc and fastening it to the 
roof by two or three " strap " hinges. When 
not in use these may be turned back so that each 
lies flat along the roof. When it is desired to 
attach the lights the guards may be secured in 
an upright position with a hook and eye. This 
method of securing the signal-light boards will 
also allow bulky articles to be carried on any 
part of the roof. 

A whistle or loud " noise maker " of some kind 
is one of the most important attachments of a 
motor boat, for not only does it serve as a signal 
to warn other boats on which side you intend to 
pass them, but on cruises it is useful in an- 
nouncing the approach of your craft to locks, 
drawbridges, and the like, and will thus save 
much time in waiting for the tender to arrive at 
the scene of operations. Owing to the noise made 
by the motor in practically every power craft a 
loud whistle or siren should be used for signaling 



ACCESSORIES 113 

in order that it may be heard over the much 
nearer sound of the engine in the other boat. 

Por the smaller boats effective hand whistles 
can be obtained which will serve the purpose 
nearly as well as would a steam siren. These 
consist of a large cylinder and hand-operated 
plunger, the latter of which, when moved, com- 
presses the air and forces it out through a small 
whistle. This whistle is generally fastened di- 
rectly to the cylinder, but if installed in the bot- 
tom of the boat in this manner the high sides of 
the cockpit will so confine the sound that much 
of the effectiveness of the whistle as a signal will 
be lost. A far better way in a medium-sized 
craft is to disconnect the whistle proper from the 
cylinder and place it either on the canopy top 
(if the boat is covered) or on the bow deck. It 
can then be connected with the source of air by 
a few elbows and lengths of brass pipe — an ope- 
ration which should not take a good pipefitter 
more than an hour. 

Many motor boats are now equipped with a 
whistle operated by the exhaust from the motor — 
either taken direct or confined in a separate tank, 
to be used as desired. Such a signal may be 
sounded from any part of the boat by merely 
pulling a cord in the same manner as on steam 
boats. Another type of marine whistle obtains 



114 THE MOTOR BOAT 

its compressed air from a tank which is kept 
filled by means of a small pump connected to the 
gasoline motor. This pump can be so arranged 
that it will be thrown into action automatically 
when the pressure in the tank becomes reduced 
below a certain amount. 

The electric horn is coming into popular fa- 
vor as a signal for motor boats, owing to the pe- 
culiar penetrating quality of its tone and the 
ease with which it is installed and operated. It 
may be operated on dry batteries or a storage 
cell and can be sounded merely by pushing a but- 
ton located in any convenient place near the 
wheel. The sound will be continuous as long as 
the button is pressed. 

Although the majority of two-cycle motors on 
the market are advertised as reversible and nearly 
all of this type can run equally well in either di- 
rection, it is not well to be obliged to depend upon 
this in case of an emergency, and I strongly ad- 
vise every owner of a motor boat driven by an 
engine developing six horsepower and over to 
equip his craft with some sort of good reverse 
gear which will operate independently of the mo- 
tor. Such an arrangement is absolutely neces- 
sary if a four-cycle motor is used, for this type 
of engine, unless specially constructed, will run 
in but the one direction. 



ACCESSORIES 116 

There are two distinct types of reverse mech- 
anisms in popular use among motor boatmen, and 
while space will not permit a full discussion of 
the merits and disadvantages of each, a short 
description of the two is necessary in order that 
the novice may best know how to equip his boat. 
Everyone knows that the blades of the propeller 
are turned at an angle from the plane in which 
the whole wheel revolves. With the solid type of 
propeller in which the blades are cast rigidly with 
the hub, revolution in one direction will give a 
forward force to the boat while revolution of the 
wheel in the opposite direction will draw the hull 
backward. 

It will be seen, then, that all that is necessary 
thus to control the boat is to be able to change 
at will the direction of rotation of the shaft upon 
which the wheel is mounted. If this could be done 
by the engine, with the absolute assurance that 
it would turn in one direction or the other, as de- 
sired, with no danger of stopping at the crucial 
moment or, what is worse yet, of continuing with 
renewed power in the same direction from which 
it is desired to change, there would be no need for 
reverse gears of any kind. But we cannot have 
that assurance — and hence the thriving business 
done by the clutch and reverse propeller manu- 
facturers. 



116 THE MOTOR BOAT 

The reverse clutch is the mechanism usually in- 
stalled directly behind the motor, forming the 
connection between the crank shaft and the pro- 
peller shaft. When the lever attached to this 
mechanism is thrown in one direction, the pro- 
peller shaft revolves with the crank shaft of the 
motor as though connected by a rigid coupling. 
When this control lever is moved to its other 
limit a set of gears is thrown into mesh which 
causes the propeller shaft to revolve in the oppo- 
site direction from that of the flywheel of the 
motor. Between these positions of the lever is 
the neutral, at which point the motor may run 
while the propeller and shaft will remain perfectly 
still. 

The other arrangement is known as the re- 
versible propeller and is quite different in its 
operation from that of the reverse clutch — al- 
though the results are practically the same. 
With this mechanism the propeller shaft is con- 
nected directly to the crank shaft of the motor 
and always revolves with it. By a lever arrange- 
ment and a rod or sleeve which follows the pro- 
peller shaft and connects with the wheel, each 
blade may be made to turn on its longest axis. 
This serves to change the pitch of the blades in 
unison, so that almost any desired angle to the 
plane of revolution of the wheel may be obtained. 



ACCESSORIES 117 

When these blades are turned so that there is 
no pitch, the effect on the boat is the same as 
though a smooth disc were revolving through the 
water and, no matter how fast the motor may be 
running, there will be no power exerted in either 
direction. This corresponds to the neutral posi- 
tion of the reverse clutch. If the blades are 
turned farther in this same direction, the pitch of 
the wheel will be so changed that, whereas there 
was a push against the hull before, there will now 
be a pully and we have the same result as though 
a solid wheel had been revolved in the opposite di- 
rection. It is evident that with this arrange- 
ment almost every variation of pitch can be ob- 
tained from the greatest forward angle, through 
zero, to an equally great reverse angle. 

It is a great advantage to be able to change 
the pitch of the propeller at will while the boat 
is under way, for by regulating the speed of the 
motor to the position of the blades a wonderful 
flexibility of control can be obtained. Then, too, 
there may be a certain pitch of the propeller at 
which the highest speed of the boat may be ob- 
tained but which, under certain conditions, will 
allow the motor to " turn up " too fast and cause 
undue vibrations in the hull. By increasing the 
pitch of the propeller blades a greater load will 
be thrown on the engine, which may result in 



118 THE MOTOR BOAT 

smoother running, although it will probably re- 
duce the speed of the boat somewhat. 

It is this flexibility of pitch that is one of the 
strongest points in favor of the reversible pro- 
peller. Another advantage to be found in this 
type of wheel is the ease with which individual 
blades may be replaced. It often happens that 
when a shoal or log is struck, only one " bucket " 
of the propeller may be damaged. In case a 
solid wheel is used, the entire propeller must be 
replaced, and although this is not a very difficult 
operation when once the boat is raised out of wa- 
ter, one or two extra wheels would occupy a 
greater amount of space in the boat than would 
a dozen interchangeable blades for the reverse 
propeller. 

The reverse clutch using a solid wheel has its 
advantages, however, and it is entirely a matter 
of personal preference and opinion as to which 
is the better type to use on any particular de- 
sign of boat. The hub of the solid wheel can be 
made smaller than that of the reverse propeller, 
and consequently slightly better blade design 
with a greater amount of effective surface for the 
same size of wheel may be obtained with the for- 
mer. This feature makes the solid wheel better 
suited for racing purposes in which it is necessary 
to take every factor into consideration which will 



ACCESSORIES 119 

have any effect, no matter how small, upon the 
speed of the boat. Many a race has been lost 
and won on such a small matter as a few square 
inches of effective blade area. 

Then, too, it must be remembered that the solid 
wheel attached to the end of a plain steel shaft is 
the simplest form of connection between the mo- 
tor and the water. The reversible propeller re- 
quires either a hollow shaft throughout the length 
of which slides a rod connected to the blade-turn- 
ing mechanism located in the hub, or a sleeve 
which surrounds this propeller shaft and ope- 
rates the same levers for changing the pitch of 
the buckets as does the rod. This complicates 
matters slightly, particularly if it is desired to 
shorten the propeller shaft, and in addition 
greater attention must be paid to the outboard 
and inboard stuffing boxes in order that the pack- 
ing will not be disturbed by the lateral motion of 
the sleeve or rod. 

With both the ordinary reversible propeller 
and the clutch the speed of the motor must be 
regulated in connection with the load carried by 
the wheel. For instance, as the blades are 
brought to neutral or as the clutch is released, 
the motor must be throttled down and the spark 
retarded in order to keep the motor from racing 
under its decreased load. When the load is 



120 THE MOTOR BOAT 

again applied, either by increasing the pitch of 
the blades or by re-engaging the clutch, the throt- 
tle of the motor must be opened and the spark 
advanced in order to prevent the engine from be- 
coming stalled under its increased load. 

In order to simplify these operations and to 
enable complete control of the boat to be obtained 
by one lever, a reversible propeller has been de- 
signed in which the load upon the engine is al- 
ways constant, no matter what may be the posi- 
tion of the blades. This device consists of two 
propellers on the end of a single shaft, the pitch 
of each of which is regulated by one lever lo- 
cated near the motor, as in the ordinary type. 
For full power ahead each propeller is turned so 
as to give maximum efficiency on the forward 
drive. 

As the wheel is turned toward neutral the pitch 
of one blade is changed automatically so that it 
sets up a resistance against the water sufficient 
to overcome the loss of load on the motor due to 
the decreased pitch of the other bucket. When 
the neutral point of the propeller is reached, one 
blade is so turned as to develop a forward push, 
which is entirely counteracted by the reverse 
pitch of the other blade, which is exerting a back- 
ward pull. As these forces are equal and are 
working in opposite directions, there is no power 



ACCESSORIES 121 

transmitted to the boat, although the motor will 
be running at full load. For full speed astern 
both propellers will be set to reverse pitch. 

It will be seen readily that when the load lost 
by one propeller is gained by the other the load 
on the motor must remain constant and there can 
be no racing. With a wheel of this type prop- 
erly designed the reverse lever may be used alone 
to control the speed of the boat, and the load may 
be shifted from full power ahead to full speed 
astern with scarcely any perceptible change in 
the speed of the motor. 

Very few of the smaller motor boats require 
both a pilot and an engineer— except that the 
operator must have some of the qualities and abil- 
ities of each. Even a forty-foot cruiser may be 
managed by one man after the motor is once 
started, and the ease with which a comparatively 
bulky boat may be operated is really astonishing. 
This " one-man control " feature of the motor 
boat is probably best exemplified in the " auto 
boat." The steering wheel is generally of the 
automobile type, having the spark and throttle 
levers located on quadrants inside its rim. The 
starting crank and reverse levers are near at 
hand, and practically every phase of motor boat 
navigation may be obtained by the one man with- 
out once stirring from his seat. 



122 THE MOTOR BOAT 

With the boat in which the motor is located in 
the stern or in the center of an undivided cockpit, 
such one-man control as that described above can- 
not be obtained. Nearly all of the larger boats 
of this type are steered from a wheel in the bow, 
while the motor is operated by a second member 
of the party. It is possible to convert such a 
boat as this into a one-man control type, how- 
ever, merely by the proper arrangement of the 
throttle, spark, and reverse levers and the instal- 
lation of an extra steering wheel. 

These control levers should be arranged so that 
all three come within reach of the left hand, leav- 
ing the right free for steering the boat. A sim- 
ple extension from the throttle may be arranged 
easily by almost any machinist or blacksmith, and 
it is probable that the reverse and spark levers 
will already be located within easy reach. 

There are many arrangements for auxiliary 
steering in use on various motor boats, but prob- 
ably the simplest and most effective is a small 
extra wheel attached to the coaming or side of 
the cockpit opposite the motor. A connection 
may be made with the rudder line at this point, a 
few turns taken around the drum of the wheel, 
and it will then work in conjunction with the 
steering wheel at the bow without complicating 
the system to any extent. This extra wheel 



ACCESSORIES US 

should not have handles, or grips, projecting 
from its rim, as these are liable to be in the way 
and to catch in the clothing of persons sitting 
near by. 

The best form is a small wheel with a round 
rim. This will furnish a sufficient grip and will 
be as compact as any device obtainable. Many 
boats are equipped with a single vertical lever, 
pivoted at its lower end and fastened to the steer- 
ing line about in the middle. This is a simple 
form of control and one easily installed, but the 
large arc of the circle through which the handle 
swings when the boat is turned occupies consid- 
erable room along the side of the cockpit and is 
liable to destroy the seating capacity of a locker 
which may be located within range. 

Furthermore, a greater length of steering line 
will be required when this lever is pushed in either 
direction from the vertical than will be the case 
when it is standing upright. This has the effect 
of making the steering line too slack when the 
boat is going straight and of tightening it un- 
duly when the rudder is turned hard in either di- 
rection. An attachment to this lever can be ob- 
tained by means of which the steering line will be 
kept at the same tension — no matter what the 
position of the rudder may be. This attachment 
consists of two sectors of a steel wheel, each hav- 



1^4 THE MOTOR BOAT 

ing a toothed rim to accommodate the links of a 
chain fastened to the rudder line. 

These sectors may be likened to a part of the 
sprocket wheel of a bicycle, and as the chain lol- 
lows the arc of the wheel attached to the lever as 
it is pushed in either direction, the tension on the 
rudder chain remains always the same. This is a 
simple arrangement, but Jt is hardly as desirable 
as the small wheel mentioned at first. 

Most of the devices and attachments described 
above have had to do with the management of the 
boat while under way, but it must be remembered 
that it is often desirable or necessary to stop and 
to stay stopped for a while, and when there is no 
good pier or other landing place available, an 
anchor will prove itself of as great value as any 
accessory to be found on board. This will be 
true particularly if the motor should happen to 
break down near a shore toward which a strong 
wind is blowing or a strong current flows, and in 
this case the anchor may be the means of saving 
the boat from being smashed or stove-in upon the 
rocks. It is much easier to repair the motor 
when there is no feeling of rush or hurry, and 
when the boat is safely riding at anchor the trou- 
ble may be located much more quickly and a bet- 
ter job done than if there was danger of drifting 
helplessly upon the rocks. 



ACCESSORIES 125 

An anchor of sufficient size and strength for 
holding a medium-sized boat in a good " blow " 
is not the bulky and unwieldy object that one 
might think. While there are no " pocket edi- 
tions," of course, folding anchors are made which 
can be stowed in a remarkably small space and 
which can yet be rendered easily available for al- 
most instant use. Such an anchor, together with 
about two hundred feet of rope, may be stowed in 
a space two feet long by one foot square and 
should form a part of the equipment of every 
motor boat. It will be strong enough to hold 
a thirty-foot boat, or larger, and the two hundred 
feet of line will allow of comfortable mooring in 
almost any river or lake. 

These accessories are what might be termed 
the necessities for every motor boat, for while 
a craft can be navigated without them, each fills 
its place in helping to make the sport " safe and 
sane." 

There are, on the other hand, several " lux- 
uries " which many a seasoned motor boatman 
would find it difficult to do without, and although 
they do not add directly to the safety of running 
a power craft, each does its share toward making 
it a more comfortable and pleasant diversion. 

In several devices, the combination of safety 
and comfort is attained to a high degree, a single 



126 THE MOTOR BOAT 

apparatus serving the needs of both. This is 
well exemplified in the small lighting plants that 
furnish power for the search light that enables 
landings to be made with safety on the darkest 
night, and that also supply the cabin illumination, 
as well. 

A small, gasoline motor-driven generator of one 
kilowatt, capable of supplying current for all sig- 
nal lights and for a couple of dozen ten-candle- 
power electric bulbs will be found exceedingly 
useful on the cruiser that can spare a few square 
feet of floor space in the engine room for the in- 
stallation of this compact illuminating plant. 
The generator is driven direct by a two-horse- 
power, single-cylinder, two-cycle, high-speed gas- 
oline engine, and by means of a small switch board, 
any or all of the lights may be used as desired. 
The addition of a small set of storage batteries 
in conjunction with the generator, enables the 
lights to be used when it is undesirable to ope- 
rate the power plant. 

Even though its cockpit does not afford room 
for the installation of the more pretentious elec- 
tric generating plant, the small open boat or 
cruiser need not be without a brilliant search- 
light and means of interior illumination, for acety- 
lene gas can come to the rescue in the form of a 
very compact and easily-operated generator of a 



ACCESSORIES 127 

capacity sufficient to meet the requirements of 
even a large craft. The nuisance of old and half- 
used carbide has been done away with, and by 
means of these generators, the very last ounce of 
the substance may be consumed, even when the 
lights have been in operation only at long in- 
tervals. 

This generator is mounted on a horizontal axis 
set in spring supports and is inverted when it is 
desired to stop the generation of gas. This in- 
version breaks the contact of the water with the 
carbide, and only a small amount of the acetylene, 
under very low pressure, is stored in the gene- 
rator. By turning the chamber to its original 
position, the carbide is again brought into con- 
tact with the moist residue, and generation is 
immediately resumed. One, two, or three units, 
depending upon the number of lights to be pro- 
vided for, are mounted upon the single horizontal 
axis and constitute the entire generating set. A 
single generator is also made especially for the 
production of acetylene for one searchlight and 
one cabin light. 

Many a motor boat is afflicted with the ill 
known as " water in the hull," and the curing of 
this is to the nautical enthusiast what pumping 
up the tires is to his automobilist cousin — for 
both entail about the same amount of backbreak- 



1^8 THE MOTOR BOAT 

ing work. As the power of the motor has come 
to the aid of the automobilist in helping him 
pump up his tires, so does the bilge pump relieve 
the motor boatman of much of the time and trou- 
ble of " baling out." Some forms of bilge pumps 
are attached to the flywheel by means of a fric- 
tion pulley, while others are a part of the circu- 
lating system of the cooling water. 

All of these systems operate by means of a 
rotary or plunger pump, but in a third type, the 
steam injector principle is applied to suck out 
the bilge water without the use of any moving 
parts. The water jacket of the exhaust mani- 
fold is tapped and the stream of circulating wa- 
ter between it and the outlet is used to form the 
suction for the bilge connections. The overflow 
from the engine circulating water, or all that is 
not forced through the " injector " with the bilge 
water, is discharged into the muffler, which is 
tapped in order to provide for this. 

As in all gas engines, the most delicate part of 
the motor boat power plant is the ignition system. 
And the man who has been caught out in the rain 
in an open motor boat will also probably realize 
that the average ignition system is not amphib- 
ious and that water on the spark plug puts as 
effective a damper on the spirits of the engine as 
does an empty gasoline tank. But the sight of 



ACCESSORIES 129 

any ignition outfit consisting of a coil, wiring, 
and plug entirely immersed in water, with a spark 
merrily leaping from one electrode of the plug to 
the other would indicate that the above-mentioned 
rainy-day troubles of the motor boatman are at 
an end. 

Such outfits as those that gave this astonishing 
demonstration are not only waterproof, but they 
are compact as well, eliminate all high-tension 
wiring, and require but two connections in the 
whole system. In one type of this system, the 
" step-up transformer," or coil, is wound around 
the spark plug so that the latter is practically 
embodied in the core of the former. The spark- 
ing end of the plug projects from the coil, and 
this is screwed into the engine cylinder in the 
same manner as is the ordinary spark plug. A 
circuit breaker, corresponding to the vibrating 
armature of the ordinary coil, and the set of bat- 
teries, form the only parts of this ignition sys- 
tem that are not combined with the coil and plug 
on the engine cylinder. 

Another device similar to that just described 
combines the coil, condenser, and vibrator in a 
single waterproof covering that can be attached 
directly to the spark plug of each cylinder with- 
out the use of wires. The electrical connection is 
made automatically with the tip and shank of the 



130 THE MOTOR BOAT 

spark plug, and the attachment will fit any stand- 
ard make. 

Spark plugs and coils are not the only parts 
of the ignition that can be rendered temporarily 
useless by water, and it is well known that damp- 
ness is as disastrous to the life of a dry battery 
as is excessive use. In order to keep these cur- 
rent generators dry at all times and under all 
conditions, several forms of battery cases have 
been devised. These are made in various sizes 
and will hold from one set of two cells to two 
sets of eight batteries each. The covers of the 
boxes are clamped down tightly over a rubber 
gasket that serves to keep the contents abso- 
lutely dry, even when the cases are entirely im- 
mersed in water, and all wire connections are 
made from brass terminals that project through 
the top and sides of the box. 

In one form of battery box, the cells are pro- 
vided with special screw tops that engage with 
similar tops that are attached to the lid of the 
box. These form one battery terminal, while 
connection is made with the other pole by means 
of a brass spring in the top of the box over each 
cell. Connections between the individual cells 
are made through brass strips set on the inside 
of the top of the box, and there is consequently 
no exterior wiring except that leading to the coils 



ACCESSORIES 131 

and motor. A special switch can be provided 
on the top of the box by means of which various 
wiring arrangements between the sets of batter- 
ies can be obtained. By this means, either set 
may be used separately, or both may be used to- 
gether, either in the series or in the series-par- 
allel arrangement. 

Another form of battery box is intended to be 
used with any kind of a dry cell of the standard 
size. This box is filled with a waterproof com- 
pound into which holes are moulded to accommo- 
date the individual batteries. The cells are thus 
separated from each other by a waterproof insu- 
lating material, and as each fits tightly in its 
pocket, the batteries are held in place as rigidly 
as though they were screwed to the cover of the 
box. Special wire connectors are used between 
the individual cells, and the current is conducted 
to the terminals on the outside of the box by 
means of brass strips. Brackets are supplied by 
means of which the case may be attached either 
to the floor or to the underside of a seat or the 
deck. 

Those who want to know how fast their boat 
is running may now satisfy their curiosity by 
referring to their speedometer. One type of this 
device designed for use on motor boats is ope- 
rated by iheans of an inlet pipe in the bottom of 



132 THE MOTOR BOAT 

the boat. The change in pressure, due to the 
speed of the boat, is shown on a mercury gauge 
marked to read in miles per hour. 

In order to cut down the number of separate 
tools required on board and to lessen the chances 
of losing or mislaying any or all, a special device 
has been designed which in reality comprises eight 
separate, solid end w^-enches in one piece that 
will easily fit the coat or vest pocket. This con- 
sists of four flat, thin, solid end wrenches of the 
same length placed one above the other and held 
in position by a centerbolt that passes through a 
slot cut through the middle of each piece. This 
centerbolt has a squared shank that keeps each in- 
dividual wrench from turning, and on its threaded 
end is screwed a wing, or thumb, nut that serves 
to keep the four tools held rigidly together when 
it is tightened. 

As the slot through which the centerbolt passes 
is a couple of inches long, any one of the four 
wrenches may be slid out from the rest of the nest 
so that the desired end projects a sufficient dis- 
tance to be applied to the nut that is to be turned. 
As there are eight ends of different sizes on the 
four wrenches, and each tool may be slid to the 
limit of the slot in either direction, eight sizes of 
nuts may be wrestled with^ and yet only in thick- 
ness is the tool larger than a single wrench. A 



ACCESSORIES 133 

square hole cut near the end of one of the 
wrenches in the nest serves as a key with which 
to open or close the valve of a gas tank of stand- 
ard make. 

Another unique type of wrench consists of a 
pair of adjustable jaws operated by the thumb 
nut and thread of the well-known " monkey " 
principle. Opposite the jaws the shank of this 
wrench is held in an " eye-piece " which is, in 
turn, mounted in a ratchet joint at the end of a 
heavy handle. These two joints, the eye-piece 
and the handle, thus allow the jaws to occupy two 
different series of positions in relation to the 
handle. By loosening a thumb nut at the end 
of the eye-piece, the jaws may be turned through 
an arc of approximately ninety degrees about 
their shank as an axis, while the ratchet joint in 
the end of the handle in which the eye-piece is 
mounted enables the jaws to be revolved to any 
position about the eye-piece as an axis. 

The ratchet operates in either direction and 
may be turned on or off by means of a milled 
nut. It will be seen that, inasmuch as the jaws 
have any number of adjustments through both a 
horizontal and vertical plane, independent of the 
handle, almost any nut can be reached. The 
ratchet attachment allows the nut to be turned by 
moving the handle through but a very small arc. 



134 THE MOTOR BOAT 

A motor boat is a good deal like a house; it 
can be made serviceable without great expense, 
but to be made comfortable and attractive as well, 
it must be furnished with common sense. 



CHAPTER VII 

COVERS, CANOPIES, AND TOPS 

EVEN though the motor boat spends the 
greater part of its existence in the water, 
water should spend very little time in the 
motor boat. No matter how well protected the 
motor may be, the interior of the boat, the floor 
boards, the inside of the planking, the seats and 
cushions, and every part of the equipment and 
furnishings will give better service if they are 
kept dry, and it is consequently as much of a 
duty owed to the craft itself as it is to the pas- 
sengers to provide some sort of protection from 
the spray and rain. 

To be sure, a man can provide himself with a 
" slicker " and oilskins and keep as dry in the 
heaviest rain or spray as though he were snugly 
ensconced in a cabin, but the subsequent time and 
trouble spent in baling and drying out the inte- 
rior of the boat and polishing the rusted metal 
parts will make the owner wish his craft, as well 
as himself, could be provided with a set of oil- 
skins. Many cases are on record, of course, in 

135 



136 THE MOTOR BOAT 

which boats have been run when they were half 
full of water, but the average motor boat is not 
a submarine, and the less water that finds its 
way over the wrong side of the gunwale, the bet- 
ter will it be both for the craft and the occupants. 

Every well-treated motor boat is entitled to a 
boathouse or shelter of some kind in which it may^ 
be kept when it is not in use. But the motor 
boat is not like the turtle and cannot carry its 
house on its back, and consequently when on 
camping trips or cruises, if the craft is of the 
open cockpit type, some provision must be made 
for a removable covering. An effective protec- 
tion for this purpose which will completely cover 
the interior of the boat may be made from stout 
canvas. This should be made of the same gen- 
eral shape as the outlines of the cockpit, but its 
width should be slightly greater than the beam 
of the boat. 

Grommets or brass rings should be worked into 
the outer edge at frequent intervals to fit over 
hooks screwed in corresponding positions in the 
outside of the coaming. When the rings, or 
grommets, are fitted over the hooks, the cover 
will be held tightly in position, but as the canvas 
will either lie flat or will sag in the middle, the 
water will collect in the center and will probably 
soak through unless the material has been thor- 



COVERS, CANOPIES, AND TOPS 137 

oughly waterproofed. Consequently the center- 
line of the canvas should be raised above the edges 
to form sloping sides off which the water will run 
without soaking through. 

This is best provided for by taking a stout 
stick or a narrow board slightly longer than the 
cockpit and notching this at its "edge near each 
end so that it will fit down over the coaming at 
the bow and stern. If the canvas has been made 
of the proper width, it can be fitted down over 
this board and will be stretched in the form of 
sloping sides. 

Such a covering can be folded and stowed in a 
small space when not in use. For this reason it 
is well adapted as a shelter to be carried in the 
boat on extended trips, and if there is no con- 
venient place in which to store the long center 
stick, this may be made in two parts and hinged 
in the middle. 

If the motor boat has been purchased before 
boathouse accommodations have been built to re- 
ceive it, or if the boathouse is already full and 
there is no room for the extra craft, th^ type of 
cover described above will serve well as a tempo- 
rary shelter until other provisions can be made. 
In fact, the writer knows of an instance in which 
such a cover was made to serve as a boathouse 
for a small " runabout " for four seasons. In 



138 THE MOTOR BOAT 

this case, the stern of the boat was fastened by a 
long line to a pier that projected into the stream 
for some distance, while the bow rope was tied to 
a post near the water's edge on shore. This 
method of mooring kept the boat at a safe dis- 
tance from both pier and shore, even in the heav- 
iest wind, and the craft was as well protected, 
both inside and out, as though it had been riding 
placidly in its slip in the boathouse. 

A low-lying cover that protects the entire 
cockpit does its duty too well to be sufficiently 
versatile to serve also as a spray hood when the 
boat is running in a heavy sea, for it allows no 
room for occupants and can be used only as a 
shelter when the craft is at rest. It is the un- 
protected motor that will suifer most in a heavy 
rain or spray, and consequently the simplest kind 
of cover must take into consideration the shelter- 
ing of the carburetor and ignition system — ^par- 
ticularly the latter. 

Absurd as it may sound, in an emergency a hat 
has been found to afford a simple and yet highly 
effective shelter for a single-cylinder motor, and 
in many instances the placing of a " sou'wester " 
over the spark plug has enabled the boat to run 
continuously through a rain that would have 
stopped the engine " dead " were this head cover- 
ing not available. If the motor only is to be con- 



COVERS, CANOPIES, AND TOPS 139 

sidered in sheltering the boat from the rain, an 
oilskin or rubber cloth jacket, that will fit down 
over the manifold and carburetor with tapes or 
puckering strings by which it may be held in place 
in a high wind, will serve to keep the engine itself 
in running condition. This is the simplest of all 
coverings, but it is only to be recommended for 
temporary use until a more complete shelter that 
will protect the cockpit as well as motor can be 
obtained. 

The motor boat having a canopy top will doubt- 
less be provided with side curtains which can be 
let down, completely enclosing the interior of the 
boat. These serve well as a covering if the boat 
is to be left out of its slip over night, and they 
also aiford complete protection to the occupants 
in case of a rain storm. It is probable that these 
curtains will be divided into sections, and in this 
case one or more on the windward side may be let 
down to keep the spray out when there is a heavy 
head sea running. 

This would probably interfere with the view of 
the steersman and the passengers, however, and 
as the ordinary spray cloth should be merely an 
extension of the coaming and does not need to 
connect with the canopy top, a protection other 
than the curtain is almost necessary for pleasant- 
weather-but-rough-water navigation. Such an 



140 THE MOTOR BOAT 

auxiliary spray curtain may consist of a strip 
of heavy canvas eighteen inches or two feet wide 
extending around the bow from the 'midship por- 
tion of one side of the coaming to a point di- 
rectly opposite. 

Grommets or brass rings fastened to the bot- 
tom edge of this canvas may engage with hooks 
screwed into the outer side of the coaming. The 
upper edge of the spray cloth may be secured in 
the same manner to the upright stanchions, or 
supports for the canopy top. In order to sup- 
port the canvas where it rounds the curved coam- 
ing at the bow of the cockpit, separate brass or 
iron rods will need to be used. Casings should 
be provided in the canvas into which these rods 
may be slipped, and each of the latter should be 
supported upright in the coaming by means of 
two screw eyes placed one above the other. 

If the rods are not too tight a fit in these screw 
eyes, each of the former may be removed when 
the spray cloth is unhooked, and the entire at- 
tachment may then be rolled up and stowed in a 
small space in one of the lockers. The fact that 
the spray cloth extends back on each side from 
the bow to amidships will generally serve to pro- 
tect the entire cockpit from the flying spray. 

A stationary canopy top composed of matched 
strips of wood made waterproof by a canvas cov- 



COVERS, CANOPIES, AND TOPS 141 

ering, the whole supported on well-secured stan- 
chions, forms a good shelter equipment for a fair- 
sized motor boat and has the advantage of being 
more solid and substantial than the removable 
tops. But many an owner prefers an open boat 
for short trips and pleasant weather cruising, 
and the craft of such a man should be provided 
with a top that is easily attached and removed 
" on the spur of the moment " before leaving the 
boathouse. 

Such a canopy top may consist of a frame- 
work over which stout waterproof canvas should 
be stretched and permanently secured. This 
framework may be supported by brass stanchions, 
the lower ends of which fit into brass guides and 
sockets secured to the coaming and deck at the 
proper points. A set screw, or some other 
clamping arrangement, should be provided for 
each socket so that the stanchions will be held se- 
curely in place and will not rattle and shake from 
the vibrations of the motor. 

This same clamping arrangement may be used 
to hold stanchions supporting a matched wood 
and canvas canopy top as described in the pre- 
ceding paragraph, but unless all parts of the 
guides and sockets are made unusually large and 
heavy and are well secured to the deck and coam- 
ing, such a removable shelter will be too unwieldy, 



142 THE MOTOR BOAT 

bulky, and top-heavy to be practical. As a rule, 
it is better to confine the removable type of top 
to the more easily handled canvas variety. 

Hinged or sliding hatches should be cut in the 
roof of every permanent canopy top in order to 
furnish easy entrances and exits to and from the 
cockpit. On some boats these hatchways are cut 
in the sides of the top, while on others the en- 
trance or exit is made by way of the bow or stern 
deck. It is not advisable to cut a flap in the side 
or end of canvas top, but headroom for entrance 
and exit may be afforded by attaching a hinged 
bow to the two front or rear stanchions. This 
hinged bow will carry the end of the canvas top, 
and when it is turned to a vertical position and 
lies alongside the stanchions to which its ends 
are hinged, the canvas will be folded back be- 
tween the two supports. A fastening of some 
sort should be provided to hold the hinged bow 
in an extended position and thus stretch the can- 
vas tightly when this " hatch " is not in use. 

Folding " automobile " tops have come into 
popular use on many types and sizes of motor 
boats, and these form a convenient and easily-re- 
moved protection from the sun, wind and spray. 
When extended, such a top is supported on two 
or more sets of bows that are hinged in brackets 
set in the coaming, and the entire canvas is 



COVERS, CANOPIES, AND TOPS 143 

stretched tight by means of straps attached to 
cleats set in the bow and stern decks. Each set 
of bows can be removed easily from its pivot, or 
hinge, and transferred to the stern of the cock- 
pit where, by means of other pins, they may be 
turned back along the deck with the stern set of 
bows. Then the supports are all " nested " to- 
gether at the stern of the cockpit with the 
stretches of canvas top folded between them, and 
a covering that formerly extended over the entire 
cockpit can thus be compressed into a wonder- 
fully small space in a short time. 

These automobile tops are provided with 
lengths of side curtains which may be buttoned 
down to the gunwale, and thus the entire cockpit 
of the boat may be enclosed in stormy weather. 
As these side curtains are cut in sections, only 
that side of the boat on which the spray or rain 
is driving need be protected, but if it is found 
necessary to enclose the entire cockpit, the cellu- 
loid windows which are placed in the bow " apron " 
and some of the side strips will serve to make 
navigation both easy and dry in the stormiest or 
roughest weather. The bow apron with its 
transparent front furnishes a good spray cloth, 
and as in many forms this curtain extends partly 
around the side of the coaming and slopes toward 
the stern from top to bottom, the occupants of 



lU THE MOTOR BOAT 

the rear of the cockpit also can be protected from 
the flying water and spray of a head or quarter- 
ing sea. 

Adaptations of the automobile top may be used 
for a variety of boats and shapes of cockpits. 
The racing motor boat, for instance, having its 
engine under the forward deck and provided with 
cockpit accommodations for only two or three 
persons, need use only a single set of the bows, 
and as these are pivoted at a common point, the 
entire covering may be set up in the proverbial 
"jiffy." With the side curtains and the front 
apron in place, the cockpit of the craft is con- 
verted into a marine counterpart of the doctor's 
buggy or runabout on a rainy day. This type of 
hood may also be applied as a covering for the 
stern deck of a cruiser. 

Shelters for this type of boat generally consist 
of an iron pipe framework used for the support 
of strips of canvas that may be laced to the top 
and sides, as needed. Some large cruisers are 
provided with a permanent canopy top, but the 
desire to remove the covering in pleasant weather 
makes the proper form of automobile top or de- 
tachable awning the more preferable type. It 
would be inadvisable, of course, to employ the 
automobile top as a stern deck covering on a 
large cruiser, as the broad beam would make 



COVERS, CANOPIES, AND TOPS 145 

necessary the use of bows that would be too wide 
to support the weight of canvas properly. 

An inexpensive covering for a " knockabout " 
or other boat on which it is not desired to spend 
much money for a shelter, will be found in the 
" melon " hood. This obtains its name from the 
shape that the top assumes when extended, and it 
is made in as great a number of forms as there 
are varieties of the vegetable after which it is 
christened. This hood in its simplest form con- 
sists of a set of three or four bent-wood bows, all 
of which are attached at their ends to a pin set 
in the coaming on each side of the boat. These 
bows are covered with a waterproof canvas, the 
forward end of which is shaped to fit around the 
forward curve of the cockpit on the deck outside 
of the coaming. 

When the hood is not in use, all the bows are 
turned forward and lie along the deck outside 
the coaming, with the canvas folded between 
them. The canvas, it should be understood, is 
stretched from one end to the other of all of the 
bows. Consequently, when the bows are turned 
up and opened out as far as the canvas will al- 
low, a complete covering is formed over the for- 
ward end of the boat and both the sides and the 
bow are entirely enclosed. 

If there are but two bows used and the last one 



146 THE MOTOR BOAT 

stands vertical, the hood will assume the shape of 
a " quarter slice " of melon, and if celluloid win- 
dows are cut in the bow portion, this size makes 
a satisfactory shelter for the steersman. The 
bow end of the canvas is fastened to the forward 
curve of the coaming by means of the usual 
grommets and hooks, and consequently by loos- 
ening these and springing out the hoops, or bows, 
from the pins on which they turn, the hood can be 
removed entirely. 

If the cockpit of the boat to be covered is short, 
the bows of the melon hood may be pivoted amid- 
ships, and by doubling the quarter melon size, a 
protection completely enclosing the entire cock- 
pit will be formed. This, of course, will require 
two or three more bows than will the other form, 
but a " half melon " shape will be obtained that 
will protect the occupants of the boat and its 
power plant in all kinds of rain or spray. 

Another arrangement of the melon hood for a 
boat having a medium-sized cockpit is to use two 
of the " quarter slice " shape, installing one at 
each end so that they will meet amidships when 
raised. A flap of some kind will need to be used 
to make a water-tight " j oint " between the two. 
If the cockpit is too long for the two quarter 
melon hoods to meet, an extra bow may be placed 
in sockets so that it occupies a position in the 



COVERS, CANOPIES, AND TOPS 14T 

middle of the uncovered portion, and to this the 
extra canvas necessary may be attached. The 
edges of this canvas may be laced or buttoned to 
the ends of the hoods that are already in place. 

In case the cockpit is too long to be entirely 
enclosed by one or two hoods without the use of 
additional bows and canvas, a far different type 
of covering may be installed to good advantage. 
While this hood is of the " half melon " shape, its 
construction is somewhat different from and more 
elaborate than that described above, but it also 
admits of a greater variety of uses. In this type, 
the bows generally consist of iron hoops that 
straddle the cockpit in the same manner as do 
the others. These hoops, however, instead of be- 
ing sewed or laced to the canvas, are attached to 
it by means of sliding rings. This method of at- 
tachment allows the canvas to be slid off the iron 
hoops — or to one end of all of them, rather — 
and to lie collapsed outside of the coaming along 
the deck from bow to stern. 

In order to stiffen the edge of this canvas and 
make it slide more easily and evenly, an iron rod 
should be sewed into it at one side or the other. 
If this rod is attached to each hoop by means of 
a sliding ring, the entire covering may be either 
opened or collapsed by moving the rod from one 
side of the cockpit to the other along the hoops. 



148 THE MOTOR BOAT 

Thus, if the hoops are in position and the canvas 
is collapsed on one side of the deck outside of the 
coaming, it may be opened and made to cover the 
entire cockpit bj sliding the outer edge in which 
the rod is fastened over to the other side. 

The rod and the rest of the canvas will follow 
along the hoops, being guided by the rings. The 
rod, of course, should be curved at its ends to fit 
half way around both the bow and stern of the 
cockpit coaming, for this is the position that the 
edge of the canvas must assume when it is either 
collapsed or wide open. 

When the iron rod is slid over the hoops so 
that the canVas is collapsed and it all lies on the 
same side of the deck outside the coaming, the 
hoops, of course, may be turned down flat, as has 
been described in connection with the first-men- 
tioned melon hood. One of the objections to the 
other type of melon hood lay in the fact that both 
sides and overhead must be covered if it is de- 
sired to open the shelter at all, and there was con- 
sequently no halfway position in which it could 
serve as a spray hood. 

The sliding ring type, however, may be raised 
up on either side as great or as small an amount 
as desired, and it thus forms an adjustable spray 
cloth without interfering with the view, light, and 
air on the lee side or overhead. The objection 



COVERS, CANOPIES, AND TOPS 140 

may be made to this type of hood that it will look 
bulky and " mussy " when it is collapsed along the 
side of the cockpit, but while it is not claimed that 
it is as neat in appearance as is the automobile 
top, it is surprising into how small a space a 
length of stout, light canvas may be folded. 

A convertible, removable, adjustable, combina- 
tion sunshade and rain shelter has been devised 
which is particularly well suited for use on small, 
well-equipped, pleasure boats. This consists of 
a canvas top stretched over a wire frame that is 
supported only at its two ends by an upright 
stanchion set at both the bow and stern of the 
cockpit. These stanchions rest in sockets and 
consequently are easily set in place and taken out, 
thus forming the removable feature of this can- 

The frame of the canvas top is attached to 
each stanchion by a sliding collar that can be 
held in any position along the upright by means 
of a set screw. Thus the top can be set at any 
desired distance above the cockpit, and as one end 
can be raised or lowered independently of the 
other, the canvas may be tilted to serve as a pro- 
tection from the slanting rays of the sun. 

The frame over which the canvas is stretched is 
set in the sliding collars by means of pins, or piv- 
ots, and thus the top may be turned around a 



150 THE MOTOR BOAT 

horizontal, longitudinal axis. This allows the 
canopy top to be tilted sideways to serve as a 
spray or sun shield, or it may also be used in this 
manner as a protection from cold breezes. When 
the craft is not in use, the top may be slid down 
the stanchions until it rests over the coaming, 
and thus a substantial cockpit cover is formed 
that will serve well to keep rain out of the interior 
of the boat. 

Whether a man buys a ready-made spray hood 
or top, or whether he makes one himself, the size 
and weight of the boat to which it is to be at- 
tached should always receive first consideration. 
A permanent canopy top, set on stout stanchions 
high enough above the floor to furnish ample 
headroom, makes one of the best covers for a 
twenty-five or thirty-foot boat, or larger, but it 
should not be fitted to a light racer or runabout 
on which it would be top-heavy. This precaution 
should not be taken so much on account of the ap- 
pearance of the craft as because of the actual 
safety to the occupants of the boat under some 
conditions. In a heavy blow the wind resistance 
of the canopy top might easily upset the boat. 



CHAPTER VIII 



CAMPING AND CRUISING 



FOR camping purposes, roominess and 
strength in a motor boat should not be 
sacrificed for speed, for the latter is the 
least necessary attribute of a boat intended for 
this use. In the " good old days," when canoes 
furnished the only means of water transportation 
for a camping trip, five miles an hour sufficed to 
reach our goal. If five miles an hour proved good 
enough then, why aren't seven or eight sufficient 
nowadays? We don't need to bring our business 
habits into our pleasures to that extent — and 
half of the fun of camping is the " going in." 

A motor boat need not be of great weight for 
camping trips, and a power canoe can be obtained 
which will not weigh over one hundred and twenty- 
five pounds including hull, engine, gasoline tank, 
and all accessories necessary for its operation. 
If a good, stout skag, well braced, is attached to 
the stern end of the keel so that it affords ample 
protection for the propeller, this craft, which 
will not draw over fifteen inches of water, should 
151 



152 THE MOTOR BOAT 

be able to navigate almost any stream accessible 
to an ordinary " man-power " canoe. 

The small additional weight of the motor will 
not interfere with the use of the canoe for or- 
dinary paddling if the power should give out; in 
fact, the engine will occupy so little space that it 
can be ignored almost entirely and the craft used 
as an ordinary canoe when desired. This is a de- 
cided advantage that a light power canoe has over 
a bulkier craft for camping purposes when it is 
desired to navigate shallow and unknown streams 
in a necessarily slow and cautious manner. 

If carries are so frequent on the proposed 
camping trip that even the lightest power canoe 
should be too heavy for convenience, a detachable 
motor may be obtained which may be installed 
quickly on almost any form of square-ended hull. 
The motor of this power plant is attached to a 
tiller and is connected with two sets of bevel gears 
to the propeller, which can be turned in either di- 
rection and is used to replace the rudder. 

As the motor, shaft, rudder, tiller, propeller, 
gasoline tank, and other accessories all form a 
single unit, the entire power plant may be re- 
moved and carried separately across any inter- 
vening neck of land. When the boat is again 
launched on the other side, it may be reconverted 
into a power craft with only a few minutes' work. 



CAMPING AND CRUISING 153 

Such a power plant may be installed on almost any 
small hull, but the square stern offers a more con- 
venient shape of surface to which to attach the 
clamps or eyes and pins that are used to support 
the motor. 

For camping in localities where there are no 
carries to be made, a larger power boat is prefer- 
able to a motor canoe, and a twenty-five-footer, 
when properly arranged, can be made to accom- 
modate three or four men and all duffle and pro- 
visions for several weeks. Such a boat should 
have ample beam — at least six or six and a half 
feet — and should be equipped with built-in seats, 
under which lockers should be arranged. 

Room in the stern for carrying equipment can 
be obtained by constructing the hull of the 
V-transom stern type, and this is in reality a 
speedier and more seaworthy design than any 
other form. For all purposes throughout the 
field of motor boating this type of stern has prac- 
tically supplanted the fantail, torpedo, com- 
promise, and other forms of rear-hull design. 
Of course this statement does not apply to the 
case of motor canoes and motor skiffs, in which 
the general lines of the hull are the same as in 
the man-power types, but the majority of ready- 
made power craft will be found to be designed 
with this V-transom stern. 



154 THE MOTOR BOAT 

If the hull is stanch, with no leaks, this stern 
compartment should be one of the driest in the 
whole boat, as it is entirely inclosed from the 
rain and spray. This, then, is the logical place 
in which to stow goods injured by dampness — 
provided the deck above is well calked so that no 
rain can leak through. On account of the inac- 
cessibility of the far corners of this compartment, 
articles which are rarely used should be the only 
ones to be stowed this far back. 

If the boat is equipped with a substantial can- 
opy roof, the tent and other comparatively light 
articles whose weight can be distributed over a 
considerable space may be lashed to the top, thus 
saving much room in the cockpit. An open boat 
is really preferable for camping, however, for 
there will then be no top to interfere with over- 
hanging boughs or low bridges. 

I do not advise that a twenty-five-foot motor 
boat should entirely take the place of one or more 
canoes on all camping trips, for some sort of a 
tender is necessary in many places where the shore 
formation renders it impossible for the bulkier 
craft to land. A light skiff or canoe can find a 
landing along almost any shore and can be pulled 
up on a shelving rock or beach out of reach of 
the waves. Even a motor canoe can be handled 
in this manner. 



CAMPING AND CRUISING 155 

Even one skiff or canoe must be towed in the 
proper relation with the motor boat, and when 
several are trailing behind, the matter of attach- 
ing all so that each will follow in the wake of the 
other is one which requires some experience. 
Every boat when under power leaves in its wake 
a series of stern waves which travel in the same 
direction and extend at right angles to the course. 
The problem of towing is to attach each skiff or 
canoe so that its bow will rest on one of these 
stern waves, for otherwise the craft in tow will 
not follow in the proper wake, but will " slew " 
rapidly from one side to the other and will even- 
tually either fill with water or overturn from the 
jerk of the towrope. 

In towing a single skiff or canoe, it may be at- 
tached within a few inches of the extreme stern 
of the power boat. If the power boat is travel- 
ing at high speed, however, the towline should be 
let out so that the bow of the skiff is resting on 
the second or third stern wave. In towing a 
series of boats, one may be attached close to the 
stern of the power craft, two more at the second 
stern wave, another two on the wave behind this, 
and so on. 

Not more than two should be towed on the 
same stern wave, and a single skiff is all that 
should be carried close to the power boat. Men 



156 THE MOTOR BOAT 

should be seated in the sterns of several of the 
boats in tow to keep the slack from interfering 
with the propeller of the motor boat when the 
power is shut off, and to help the long line around 
any sharp turns which may be in the course. 
Any weight in any of the skiffs in tow should be 
shifted to the extreme stern of the boat in order 
to keep the bow from drawing down. 

As the field for camping is enlarged by the mo- 
tor boat, so is the fitting out rendered slightly 
more complicated. Ignoring entirely the neces- 
sary accessories for the motor, additional para- 
phernalia must be taken which could be omitted 
were canoes alone used, but this extra equipment 
may prove of invaluable service and should on no 
account be left at home. 

First and foremost of these comes the anchor, 
which, if it will not actually prove the means of 
saving the occupants from bodily harm, will 
probably at least save the boat from many 
scratches and bumps — if not more serious dam- 
age. If any distance is to be traveled over open 
water, two anchors should be carried, for it may 
become necessary to " ride out a gale " in some 
bay not well protected, and if one anchor should 
refuse to hold in this case, or if the line should 
part, a second " hook " may be the means of 
keeping the boat off a rocky shore. 



CAMPING AND CRUISING 157 

Even though the camping trip is to be taken 
only along a small river, protected at all points 
from high winds or heavy seas, the anchor and 
cable, or rope, should be sufficiently heavy to with- 
stand a great strain, as the motor may break 
down in a swift current. In this case the anchor 
may keep the boat from being carried on shore, 
and the mechanic or engineer of the party may 
then take his time while making repairs. Trou- 
ble with a motor cannot be located and repaired 
properly if there is a necessity for haste, as would 
be the case were the boat drifting upon the near-by 
shore. While in the larger boats the anchor is a 
heavy mass of iron which must be carried outside 
the hull or on the deck, small motor boats may be 
equipped with collapsible or folding anchors which 
may be stowed in a comparatively small space 
'tween decks, and which will yet be ready for in- 
stant use when the occasion arises. 

The most vital and vulnerable part of the ex- 
terior of a motor boat is the propeller and shaft, 
and even a heavy skag will not always serve to 
keep this from damage if a shoal, sandbar, or log 
is encountered. It is the care that must be taken 
to prevent contact of the propeller with a rock 
that makes landing a medium-sized motor boat on 
an unknown shore such a difficult operation. 
The bow or 'midship section of the hull may be 



158 THE MOTOR BOAT 

beached, or may even be allowed to bump a rock 
lightly, and so, unless there is a pier or wharf at 
hand or some natural landing place where it is 
known that the water is sufficiently deep, a land- 
ing from the motor boat must be made " bow on." 

In this case, a stout anchor and sufficient length 
of rope may sometimes be made to take the place 
of a tender in enabling landings to be made at 
places on the shore where no natural or artificial 
wharf or pier will be found. If the landing on 
this " treacherous shore " is to be made directly 
from the motor boat without the use of a tender, 
the anchor should be dropped when the craft is 
still a hundred feet or so from the desired point 
of disembarking. After the anchor has firmly 
caught in the river bottom, the boat may proceed 
very slowly toward the shore, the anchor rope 
being kept sufficiently taut so that the headway 
may be stopped immediately if the water becomes 
too shallow. 

It is probable that the water will be sufficiently 
deep for the propeller a boat length away from 
shore ; this being the case, the craft may be moved 
forward until the bow strikes the beach or a rock 
forming a suitable landing place. The anchor 
rope should then be made fast to its cleat so that 
the stern cannot drift around parallel with the 
shore, and by attaching a bow line to a rock or 



CAMPING AND CRUISING 159 

tree, the boat may be held in this position until 
all of the passengers and equipment are landed. 

It would not be advisable to leave the boat 
unattended in this manner for any length of time, 
•for if the anchor should be dragged only a few 
feet by the wind or the current, the hull would 
probably be damaged by being bumped against 
the rocks from which it was formerly held away 
by the anchor rope. To tether a boat so that it 
will be kept at a safe distance from the shore and 
yet rendered accessible when desired is a prob- 
lem which can best be solved by employing a ten- 
der; the use of the anchor for this purpose is 
only a makeshift for a temporary landing. 

If the route to be traversed is through unknown 
waters — streams, bays, and lakes abounding in 
shoals and sandbars of which there are no Gov- 
ernment maps or charts obtainable — a small hand 
capstan, firmly secured to the bow or stern deck, 
may prove an invaluable addition to the camping 
equipment. The capstan on larger boats is a 
sort of windlass used for raising the anchor, but 
on the smaller craft its services may be reversed. 

This will be the case if the boat has stuck on 
a sandbar or shoal in such a manner that it can 
neither be moved by its own power nor lifted off 
by the members of the party. In this event, the 
anchor may be carried out in the tender to deeper 



160 THE MOTOR BOAT 

water and firmly imbedded in the bottom. By 
then operating the capstan attached to the an- 
chor rope, a tremendous pull will be exerted on 
the boat, which should serve to move it oif into 
the deeper water. 

Although a heavy stag is a great protection 
to the propeller, a sunken log or peculiarly-shaped 
rock may take one or two " buckets " off the 
wheel in spite of all precautions. I therefore ad- 
vise every camper who uses a motor boat to be as 
certain to carry along an extra wheel or buckets 
as he is sure to make his pipe and tobacco a part 
of the equipment; he can borrow a smoke from 
his friends, but they won't have any propeller 
blades concealed about their clothes. 

But even though an extra wheel or so is avail- 
able in case of accident to the old one, how is the 
change to be made, with the nearest boathouse or 
derrick miles away? If the boat is a light one, 
the solution is easy, for a shelving beach, a large, 
round log, and two or three husky men can bring 
the stern out of water in a "jiffy." But the 
problem is not so simple in the case of a boat 
weighing two or three tons, or more, and the 
camper must call on mechanical means to aid him. 

These will be furnished if he has been wise 
enough to carry in the boat as a part of his reg- 
ular equipment on such a camping expedition a 



CAMPING AND CRUISING 161 

differential pulley, or what is more commonly 
known as an " endless chain." This consists of 
but three parts — the chain, a single lower pulley, 
and a double upper pulley. A hook fastened to 
the bearing of the double pulley enables it to be 
suspended from any stout overhead support, while 
a similar hook on the lower pulley is attached to 
a rope passed around the hull of the boat to be 
raised. 

By pulling one side of the chain the lower pul- 
ley and hook will be raised, slowly to be sure, but 
with sufficient force to lift from one to ten tons, 
depending upon the capacity and size of the 
equipment. By pulling the other side of the 
chain the weight will be lowered easily and gently. 
The principal feature of this arrangement is that 
the weight will remain suspended at any height 
at which it is left, without the necessity of fasten- 
ing the chain. In other words, the pulley is 
" self-locking." 

Although the wheels and chain of this differ- 
ential pulley are rather heavy, the whole arrange- 
ment may be stowed in a comparatively small 
space, and, considering the service that this may 
render to the boat and party, the added weight 
may well be deemed inconsequential. The chief 
difficulty to be encountered on a long trip when it 
is desired to use this pulley is to find a place over 



16S THE MOTOR BOAT 

the water from which to suspend the upper block. 
A launch slip in a boathouse having stout over- 
head rafters will, of course, offer an easy solution, 
but when on a trip during which boathouses are 
few and far between, a pier or bridge under which 
there is sufficient water to run the boat can be 
made to serve the purpose. 

In case. the country is so unsettled that even 
rude bridges will be scarce, a projecting rock 
ledge or stout limb of a tree, a couple of heavy 
logs, and a little of that ingenuity with which 
every camper is supposed to be endowed should 
combine to make possible a repair to the pro- 
peller under almost any conditions. 

No camping trip in a motor boat should be 
undertaken without carrying along a plentiful 
supply of old but serviceable fenders to protect 
the side of the boat from scratches and bumps 
while making landings. It is a good idea to at- 
tach small brass cleats at frequent intervals along 
the gunwales on both sides of the hull, so that a 
fender can be fastened immediately to almost any 
portion of the boat. Old leather boat cushions 
that have been considered worn out long ago will 
be found to make serviceable fenders in lieu of the 
ordinary cork-filled kind. 

If the campers carry along a tent to protect 
them from rain and dampness, why should not the 



CAMPING AND CRUISING 165 

faithful little boat and engine that have brought 
them to this Nirvana be accorded the same con- 
sideration? A stout duck cover made to fit over 
the cockpit by means of rings and eyes, and 
raised in the center by a pole placed lengthwise 
across the cockpit as described in a preceding 
chapter, will serve to keep the interior and the 
motor dry and in good condition, and the little 
craft will be much more willing to continue the 
journey indefinitely than would be the case were 
it exposed to all kinds of weather. 

Motor boat cruising need not be restricted to 
a large cruiser. In fact, some of the most en- 
joyable trips, lasting several days or weeks, may 
be taken in an ordinary open motor boat, and 
almost as much pleasure and comfort will be had 
as though the craft were especially designed for 
such a purpose. Few men are fortunate enough 
to possess two motor boats of different types, 
and for the average owner the twenty-five or 
thirty-foot open craft will suit his all-around 
needs much better than will a bona fide cruiser. 

The latter is not as well adapted for use as a 
pleasure or sight-seeing craft as is the open boat, 
from which an unobstructed view may be had in 
all directions, and the deck space of the cruiser 
is too limited for a short, daylight trip on which 
the occupants desire to be out of doors as much 



164 THE MOTOR BOAT 

as possible. To be sure, the enclosed cabin of 
the cruiser is ideal for stormy weather and for 
sleeping on board, but the open boat may be made 
snug and comfortable by the use of a little in- 
genuity and a few attachments that may be easily 
and quickly obtained and applied. 

It is to be assumed, of course, that the open 
craft in question will consist of a stout hull and 
a sturdy, reliable motor, and consequently the 
considerations of the transformation of this into 
a cruiser will consist of attachments or changes 
that do not affect the general design of the boat 
as a whole. By an open boat is meant one in 
which the cockpit is not enclosed at the sides, as 
is the case with the cruiser, but a top of some 
kind is necessary on any craft in which the party 
is to live for any length of time. Many open 
boats are supplied with some sort of a canopy 
top for shelter from the sun and rain, and some 
of these are of the detachable type such as is 
used on automobiles. 

The automobile top, however, is not suitable 
for more than a few days' cruise, as it is seldom 
that sufficient headroom will be found under it to 
render the interior of the boat comfortable when 
entirely enclosed. Furthermore, it is hardly 
strong or substaiitid enough to withstand a beavy 
gale, and while it is ideal for short trips along 



CAMPING AND CRUISING 165 

protected waters, a more permanent arrangement 
is necessary for an extended cruise on which all 
manner of conditions will be met. 

The most substantial form of permanent can 
opy top has been already described. Stout cur- 
tains of some waterproof material should be at- 
tached to the underside of the canopy along its 
outside edge. There should be several sections 
of these of such a width that they will overlap a^ 
few inches at the stanchions. These curtains 
should be buttoned to each other at the overlap- 
ping edges and should be fastened to the lower, 
outside edge of the coaming, near the deck, by 
means of hooks and grommets, or brass rings, 
worked into the cloth. 

The curtains may be rolled up under the can- 
opy when not in use and held in place by short 
leather straps and hooks. Any or all portions 
of the cockpit may be enclosed, and a protecting 
section of the curtain will be found exceedingly 
useful, even on a fair day, when a quartering wind 
blows the spray into the interior of the boat, or 
when a member of the party complains of a 
" draft " at the back of his neck. 

There can be no portholes with glass windows 
in such a cabin, but pieces of thin sheet celluloid 
sewed into holes cut in the curtains make an ex- 
cellent substitute, and one of these at the bow in 



166 THE MOTOR BOAT 

front of the wheel will allow the boat to be navi- 
gated in the stormiest weather with the cockpit 
entirely enclosed and the pilot as snug and well 
protected as any other member of the party. 
When the boat is under way it will seldom be 
necessary to button down all of the curtains, for 
a part of the cockpit will be in the lee of the wind 
and this side may be left open. 

While the boat is occupied it is necessary to 
leave at least a part of one curtain open for ven- 
tilation, for the air will soon become unbearably 
close if the cockpit is entirely enclosed. Conse- 
quently it is only when the boat is left unattended 
that the curtains will be buttoned down tightly on 
all sides. 

This substantial canopy has another advantage 
over the automobile top for cruising, in that 
hooks may be screwed in the cross-pieces and 
stanchions of the former and almost any section 
of the cockpit converted into a wardrobe at night. 
If the cruise is to be taken during the mosquito, 
fly, or " punkie " season, plenty of mosquito net- 
ting should be taken along to be pinned over the 
loose flaps of the curtains that are left open at 
night for purposes of ventilation. 

In the small open cockpit of a boat of this size, 
a portable heater would not only be impracticable, 
but unnecessary as well. Anyone who has had 



CAMPING AND CRUISING 167 

any experience with a motor boat will realize that 
the engine, although cooled by a constant supply 
of water, gives off a considerable amount of heat 
when running and for some time after it has 
stopped. With most of the curtains closed, this 
heat from the motor can be confined and will 
make the interior of the boat several degrees 
warmer than the temperature of the outside air. 

On an unusually cold night, the clutch may be 
disconnected or the blades thrown to neutral, and 
the motor may then be used as a heat generator 
as often as necessary. The motor is more effi- 
cient for this purpose in the open boat with the 
curtains closed than it is in the cruiser, for in 
the latter case, the power plant is generally lo- 
cated in a separate compartment and a large 
amount of its heat would not reach the main cabin. 

The sleeping arrangements in an open boat 
cannot, of course, be made as compact as those 
of a cruiser ; the back of the side seats cannot be 
pulled up to form an upper berth and there can 
be no owner's private stateroom provided. It is 
possible, however, for two or three to sleep com- 
fortably aboard a twenty-five foot boat, not orig- 
inally designed for cruising, on beds which, while 
riot the softest or springiest, will at least be rest- 
ful and can be stowed in a small space in one of 
the lockers when not in use. 



168 THE MOTOR BOAT 

The construction of such a bed is one of the 
things requiring a small amount of that ingenuity 
necessary to convert an ordinary open boat into 
a cruiser, which is half the fun of preparing for 
such a trip. Inasmuch as the interior arrange- 
ment of the cockpit of different boats will vary 
to a great extent, no definite directions for mak- 
ing a collapsible bed can be given, but the de- 
scription of an average case taken as an example 
may help the novice the better to plan for such a 
cruise. 

Suppose, for instance, you have a twenty-five 
foot open boat of goodly beam with the motor lo- 
cated about amidships. It is probable that the 
lockers and seats will extend along the sides of 
the interior and around the stern, thus leaving a 
considerable unoccupied floor space aft of the 
motor. You will immediately recognize this as 
the logical place for the erection of a double bed 
so as to utilize the side and stern locker seats. 

This can best be done by constructing a frame- 
work and platform to fit this space between the 
seats aft of the motor, and you will then have a 
bed probably six or seven feet long and at least 
five feet wide. The framework for this platform 
need consist of but two long sticks placed along- 
side the lockers and supported by three or four 
hinged, inverted, V-shaped pieces. If the legs 



CAMPING AND CRUISING 169 

of these pieces are held at the proper distance 
apart when in use by means of hooks and eyes, 
the supports may be folded together in compact 
form when you desire to stow the bed in the day- 
time. It will be an easy matter for you to get 
several boards and shape their edges to fit differ- 
ent sections of the space between the lockers, and 
if you place cleats along these boards at the 
proper places, they will be held rigidly in position 
on the framework. 

For a different location of the motor, you will 
need to follow a different design of bed, or plat- 
form, but in any event the sleeping quarters 
should be raised well above the floor of the cock- 
pit in order to obtain all the fresh air possible. 
It must be remembered that there can never be a 
perfect circulation of air in the cockpit several 
feet below the coaming and that it is here that 
any gasoline vapors will collect. Consequently 
do not think that cushions spread on the floor of 
the craft will serve as a satisfactory bed for a 
night or so — the double bed formed by the plat- 
form is worth all the trouble required to make it, 
even for a single night's lodging. 

Of course, the open boat cannot be provided 
with a complete galley, but by using one of the 
lockers as a storeroom for provisions and carry- 
ing along a gasoline or kerosene stove such as is 



170 THE MOTOR BOAT 

used on the cruisers, meals " fit for a king " may 
be prepared with remarkably little trouble. The 
" trimmings," such as tablecloth, napkins, and 
finger bowls will be missing, but on a cruise the 
lack of such equipment will probably be consid- 
ered more of a luxury than a hardship. When in 
use, the stove may be placed on a hinged shelf in 
one corner of the cockpit. The shelf should be 
installed at such a height that the burner of the 
stove will come a few inches below the coaming, 
and the flame will thus be protected from the wind 
on two sides. 

In case the wind is blowing on the unprotected 
side of the stove, a piece of canvas, or a curtain, 
may be rigged up where necessary, and in this 
manner a snug little galley may be improvised. 
There will be times, however, when the stove can- 
not be used on shipboard on account of a heavy 
sea or high wind; in either of these events, the 
appetites of the party must be appeased with the 
ready-cooked canned goods which should form a 
part of the commissary department of every 
cruise. 

Extra propeller blades, or an entire wheel, 
should form a part of every cruising equipment, 
even though the trip is to be taken over " familiar 
ground " — and in the event of the latter proving 
literally true, an extra " bucket " or two may be 



CAMPING AND CRUISING 171 

the only means by which the outhig may be con- 
tinued as originally planned. If the trip is to be 
through large, navigable rivers and deep lakes, 
and care is taken to keep away from the shore, an 
accident to the propeller is not probable, but a 
submerged log or a floating piece of wreckage 
may easily accomplish what the absence of sand 
bars or shoals would seem to render impossible. 



CHAPTER IX 



THE BOATHOUSE 



EVERY motor boat, no matter how small or 
cheap, deserves a home of some kind where 
it may be sheltered from the rain and dew. 
This need not be an elaborate or expensive struc- 
ture, nor, in fact, is it necessary that it should be 
a building at all, for a sloping canvas roof will 
serve as effectually to keep out the dampness as 
will one made of timbers and shingles or tile. 

The man who already owns a motor boat, skiff, 
canoe, or sailboat will probably have some form 
of dock or landing stage projecting into the river 
or lake. If this dock is in the form of an uncov- 
ered slip between the piers of which the craft may 
be run, the construction of a simple shelter is an 
easy matter. This will consist of a strip of heavy 
canvas stretched over iron bows, or hoops, that 
straddle the slip. In order to make a substantial 
framework, one of these hoops should be set in 
the slip at a distance of about every three feet, 
and each may be held securely in place by means 
of sockets into which the ends slide. 
172 



THE BOATHOUSE 173 

Screw rings, or eyes, should be attached to the 
sides of the slip above the sockets to serve as 
guides, and if the sockets are provided with stops 
for the ends of the hoops, no clamps will be needed 
to hold the framework in place. The hoops 
should be sufficiently long so that the heads of 
occupants of the boat will not strike the top of 
the framework at high water, although if this dis- 
tance is made unnecessarily great, an undue 
amount of canvas will be required and the cost of 
the shelter will not be kept as low as would other- 
wise be the case. 

The canvas should be sufficiently wide to sur- 
round the hoops completely from one side to the 
other where they project above the docks. The 
edges of the canvas may be either laced or hooked 
down to the top of the docks or sides of the slip, 
and for this purpose, grommets, or brass rings, 
should be sewed into the material. The covering 
may be attached to the hoops either by lacing or 
by means of sliding rings sewed into the canvas, 
but as the latter permits the shelter to be raised 
along the side when it is desired to admit more 
light or air, this is probably the better method 
of the two. Flaps should be provided at both the 
water and shore ends of this " tunnel," and these 
should be furnished with lacing or buttons that 
will render them rain and wind tight when closed. 



174 THE MOTOR BOAT 

If wide docks form the slip over which the shel- 
ter is erected, entrances may be cut in the canvas 
on either side of the covering. These should be 
in the form of flaps between two of the hoops, and 
the loose canvas may be buttoned or laced down 
when it is desired to " close the doors." Such a 
side flap is useful for entering or leaving the boat, 
for there is no dock space provided inside of the 
canvas covering. 

If there is no uncovered slip over which this 
canvas shelter may be erected, and if the only 
landing consists of a dock that juts into the water 
a suflScient distance, an additional pier will need 
to be constructed. This, however, need not 
dampen the ambitions of the man who desires to 
erect a shelter for his boat, as the building of a 
small pier is not as complicated or serious an un- 
dertaking as it may sound. The pier need only 
serve the purpose of furnishing a substantial an- 
chorage for the other end of the hoops forming 
the framework for the canvas, and it is not even 
necessary that a platform be built along the top, 
as the entrance to and exit from the boat would 
be made from the dock side. 

If the river or lake bottom is sufficiently soft, 
the simplest pier would be formed of a line of piles 
driven into the mud and a heavy timber laid across 
the top and secured to each one. The guides and 



THE BOATHOUSE 175 

sockets for the hoops could then be attached to 
the timber and the proper piles, respectively. 

If the river bottom is too rocky to enable piles 
to be driven in, " cribs " should be built on the 
bottom of posts of the proper length. These 
posts may then be placed in position to form the 
pier, and if the cribs at their ends are loaded with 
stones and the tops secured to the heavy timber 
as already described, the resulting structure will 
be sufficiently well anchored to form a solid sup- 
port for the canvas framework and covering. 

Many boathouses are constructed with docks 
on all sides, and in this case, such a landing stage 
may be used in connection with the above-men- 
tioned pier to form a canvas-covered shelter for 
an extra motor boat. If there are no docks along 
the sides of the boathouse, or if the water is not 
sufficiently deep for the accommodation of a mo- 
tor boat, two pile-piers may be built out from 
the front of the building and the slip thus formed 
may then be covered with the canvas shelter. 

This is a simple method of providing for the 
accommodation of more craft than the boathouse 
is capable of holding, but the objection will at 
once be raised that the shelter includes no dock 
alongside of which landings may be made. This, 
of course, is true, but if a small platform is built 
across a bow corner of the slip from the shore end 



176 THE MOTOR BOAT 

of a pier to the boathouse, entrance to the craft 
may be effected from the forward deck. If the 
boathouse was designed for the accommodation of 
skiffs or canoes only and consequently is floored 
over completely inside, it will be well to build the 
covered slip for the motor boat directly out from 
the water-front door and thus do away with the 
necessity of constructing an outside dock or plat- 
form. 

A motor boat is a necessary adjunct to every 
house boat, for not only will it act in the capacity 
of messenger between this water residence and a 
base of supplies, but it may also serve as the mo- 
tive power for towing the larger craft from one 
resting place to another. This nomadic existence 
of such a motor boat renders the problem of its 
proper shelter rather a serious one, and often- 
times a cockpit cover forms the only protection 
that the craft will find for an entire season. If 
a house boat can be towed from place to place, 
however, there is no reason why a boathouse hav- 
ing such transient properties might not also be 
constructed. 

Such a floating shelter may consist of a canvas 
covering and framework such as has already been 
described, but instead of mounting the iron hoops 
on permanent piers, a special construction is re- 
quired. The simplest form of floating support 



THE BOATHOUSE 177 

for the framework is composed of a sufficient num- 
ber of watertight barrels or kegs held together in 
two parallel lines by heavy timbers attached to 
each. These two lines should be braced at their 
forward ends with an extra timber so that they 
will be kept at the proper distance apart, and as 
an added precaution, the stern hoop should be 
made especially heavy to help maintain this posi- 
tion. 

There are many substantial boathouses built 
with a " solid floor " for the accommodation of 
skiifs or canoes, and it may be that some of these, 
on account of their construction, cannot be con- 
verted into motor boat garages. A shelter for 
the boat, however, that is more substantial and 
permanent than the canvas covering, may be 
added to such a boathouse at small expense in the 
form of a " lean-to." Such a lean-to, of course, 
cannot afford a great amount of interior space, 
but as it is intended to serve merely as a perma- 
nent shelter for the boat, a slip large enough to 
accommodate the craft will furnish all of the room 
necessary. A dock should be built out from the 
shore parallel with the side of the boathouse and 
at a distance from it equal to the width of the de- 
sired slip. The roof over this slip may be a con- 
tinuation of that over the main boathouse, at a 
decreased angle, if necessary, to allow the proper 



178 THE MOTOR BOAT 

amount of head room. The rafters may be at- 
tached to the projecting eaves of the main roof 
and supported at the other end by the siding that 
should be erected on the dock built for the pur- 
pose. 

If the dock has been built wide enough, it is 
well to erect this siding on the center line so that 
there will be platform space both inside and out- 
side the lean-to. Otherwise, it is probable that 
the dock will be more useful outside as a landing 
place than it will inside of the lean-to, as the floor 
space of the main boathouse will serve all interior 
platform purposes. One or more doors should 
be cut through the old boathouse partition against 
which the lean-to is built. It is obvious that such 
an addition to a boathouse is suitable only for the 
accommodation of open motor boats, as there 
would not be sufficient ceiling space afforded for 
those having permanent canopy tops or cabins. 

Even though the black flag was long ago hauled 
down, the motor boat owner realizes that piracy 
exists to a greater or less degree along our water- 
ways and at the summer resorts where a set of 
batteries, easily-" borrowed " tools, expensive 
cork-filled cushions, and even gasoline and lubri- 
cating oil that lie in unguarded craft make profit- 
able loot for these modern, though petty, bucca- 
neers. A canvas covering may protect the cock- 



THE BOATHOUSE 179 

pit of the boat from rain and dew, but it cannot 
guard the contents from the covetously-inclined 
prowler, and the owner who erects a boathouse in 
which his craft may be kept under lock and key 
will be able to pay more than interest on his in- 
vestment by the saving on his battery and spark 
plug bills alone. But it is not only the owner 
who has suffered losses of the movable property 
of his boat who will profit by housing his craft in 
a substantial building; a well-designed boathouse 
is of great convenience in other respects, and as 
a storehouse in winter and a repair shop in sum- 
mer it is a " multum in parvo " of no mean con- 
sideration. 

As the enthusiast who has graduated from skiff, 
canoe, or sailboat to motor boat has made the 
change by degrees, so it is probable that he will 
not care to bear the expense of a brand-new motor 
boat garage as a matriculation fee. This is not 
necessary, however, for with his old skiffhouse or 
canoe shed as a nucleus, the owner may evolve a 
habitation for his craft that will be in keeping 
with his progression as a nautical sportsman. 
This, of course, does not apply to the man who, 
as a first venture, invests in a forty-footer, but 
is directed only to the owner whose purchase is a 
runabout no longer than an ordinary-sized boat- 
house. 



180 THE MOTOR BOAT 

If the original boathouse sets out from shore a 
sufficient distance, the water under its floor will 
be deep enough for the accommodation of the 
small motor boat, and the planking need only be 
cut away to form a slip. The beam.s on which 
the floor rests will, of course, need to be rear- 
ranged, and it is possible that an extra pier or 
two will be required at the sides of this new slip 
for the support of the stringpieces. 

If the boathouse rests on but four piers — one 
at each corner — it will be an easy matter to cut 
a slip, as there will then be no obstruction at its 
entrance. A third pier at the front of the boat- 
house, however, will seriously interfere with the 
construction of a central slip and may need to be 
replaced with two small ones — thus forming two 
piers at each side of the entrance. 

As three piers at the front would probably only 
be used to support a moderately large boathouse, 
it would be well to cut the slip between two of 
these piers and thus preserve the remaining half 
of the floor space intact if the boat to be accom- 
modated is a small one. It should always be re- 
membered, however, that a " tight fit " between 
boat and slip is inadvisable and that the latter 
should always be several feet wider than the beam 
of the craft it is to receive. Consequently, it 
may be necessary to remove the central pier in 



THE BO AT HOUSE 181 

order to construct a slip that will be sufficiently 
wide. 

If the boathouse does not set far enough out 
from shore to afford a sufficient depth of water 
when the slip is cut in the floor, the nature of the 
bottom will determine the advisability of dredg- 
ing or moving the building. Even though a small 
boat will not draw over two or three feet of water, 
provision should be made for a variation in the 
level of the surface of the stream or lake on which 
the boathouse is situated, and a depth of five or 
six feet under the stern is none too great for the 
accommodation of an ordinary craft. If the bot- 
tom is soft, it will, of course, be an easy matter to 
dredge the slip to the desired depth, but the action 
of the waves will probably soon refill the excava- 
tion and make it necessary to repeat the opera- 
tion several times in a season. 

Whether cruiser or racer is ultimately pur- 
chased, the services of the little runabout will 
always be needed, and it is well to provide for the 
accommodation of one of the latter as a first con- 
sideration and basis of the boathouse plans. 
Such a slip should be at least twenty feet long and 
five feet wide, even though the runabout owned at 
present should be considerably smaller than these 
dimensions. The main portion of the boathouse 
should be devoted to the provisions for accommo- 



18g THE MOTOR BOAT 

dating the prospective larger craft, while the slip 
for the runabout may be placed in a connecting 
lean-to formed by an extension of the roof at an 
angle different from that at which it slopes on 
the other side. As it is not beyond the bounds 
of probability that a forty-foot racer or cruiser 
will be the " ultimate purchase," it is well to build 
the main portion of the house at least fifty feet 
long. The large slip can be covered over with 
planks which have been cut to fit into it and rest 
on cleats secured to the sides. This will form a 
smooth, level floor which can be taken up as soon 
as it is desired to use the slip. If the slip is not 
cut when the house is built, provision should be 
made for this to be done at any time by so lo- 
cating the piers that none will be placed directly 
at the entrance when the floor is reconstructed. 

A boathouse designed to accommodate a large 
" fleet," from yacht or cruiser down to a small 
runabout or tender, should be built with the larg- 
est slip in the center under the peak of the roof 
and those of the successively smaller sizes on 
either side so that the individual slips for the 
" youngsters " are under the eaves. This design 
is necessary on account of the practice of using 
tall signal masts on yachts and large cruisers. 

There should be plenty of floor space between 
the slips and the entire building should extend 



THE BOATHOUSE 183 

several feet beyond the end of the longest. 
Rather than build the slips at the sides of just 
the size to accommodate the small boats, and thus 
restrict their capacity, it is better to construct 
one or two larger slips and in these keep all the 
runabouts, work boats, and tenders not suffi- 
ciently large to require an individual slip. This 
will thus furnish an emergency or " guest " slip. 

Boats equipped with signal masts require all 
of the available roof space, of course, and it is 
Consequently impossible to build a loft in the boat- 
house. If it is certain that a boat of this size or 
type will never be purchased, however, it is well 
to design the boathouse with a loft. This is not 
only useful as an extra room for the storage of 
spare equipment, tops, fenders, chairs, canvas, 
rope, and the like, but the interposition of this 
top flooring between the boat and the roof pro- 
tects the hull from being unduly dried out dur- 
ing the hot days of spring before the craft is 
made ready for the water. 

When the piers for the boathouse are built, it 
Is well to make these considerably larger than is 
necessary for the support of the building alone, 
and use the foundation thus afforded for the con- 
struction of ample and substantial docks. A 
boathouse with no outside docks is as poorly de- 
signed as a country home with no porch. In fact, 



184 THE MOTOR BOAT 

docks should be built, not only on both sides of 
the boathouse, but in front as well, and the motor 
boat garage having the greatest amount of 
" wharfage " is, in some respects, the best de- 
signed. Plenty of dock space not only affords 
accommodation for visiting craft and lends an 
air of hospitality to the water front, but the 
owner will find every square foot of it useful at 
various times for his own boat. 

If the boat has been running in a heavy sea or 
a severe storm, the interior, top, curtains, and the 
like may be dried to much better advantage if the 
craft is left outside where sun and wind will help 
the process. Then, too, in making repairs to the 
motor or painting a part of the hull or top, it 
may be advisable to move the boat out where sun, 
air, and light will be more abundant, and then 
the dock on the side on which the conditions are 
the most favorable may be selected, — and the ad- 
vantage of having a choice will be appreciated. 

Even in the strongest wind, the boathouse may 
prove itself a substantial shelter and breakwater 
and the dock on the lee side will afford a safe 
refuge when it would be impossible to land at the 
opposite platform on account of the high seas. 
A large amount of dock space that will be shel- 
tered from almost any wind that blows can be ob- 
tained by building a " basin " or open slip parallel 



THE BOATHOUSE 185 

with the shore line and at a sufficient distance from 
it to afford the proper depth of water. This 
basin should be built large enough to receive sev- 
eral small boats, and the outside of the large pier 
which serves as a breakwater may be used for the 
accommodation of a long craft. 

By using the platform at one side of the boat- 
house to form the end of the slip, but one or two 
additional docks need be built for the construc- 
tion of this sheltered basin and the maximum 
amount of water frontage is thus obtained on a 
comparatively short shore line and at a minimum 
cost. The construction of the dock forming the 
land side of the slip should not be difficult, as one 
end of the cross floor beams may rest on shore 
while the other end can be supported on piles or 
piers built only far enough out to obtain a suffi- 
cient depth of water. When one or more such 
slips are covered over with a well-designed shin- 
gle or tile roof, an attractive " guest shelter " is 
provided that may even serve as a temporary ac- 
commodation for the owner's boat. 

Small platforms at the front of the boathouse 
between the slip entrances may often be used to 
good advantage for small boats or for reaching 
the stern of the craft inside, and as they require 
no extra piers, but can be supported by those 
forming the foundation of the boathouse, the ex- 



186 THE MOTOR BOAT 

pense involved Is almost negligible. If the boat 
occupying the slip is rather a " tight fit " and 
there is not sufficient room to allow for erratic 
steering or a slight miscalculation on the part of 
the pilot, it is well to cut off the corners of the 
outside docks guarding the entrance. The docks 
on either side of the slip will then act as a sort of 
guide that will enable the boat to enter its berth 
with ease. 

No matter how simple or how elaborate may be 
the construction of the boathouse, precautions 
will need to be taken against the devastations of 
winter if the structure is located on a stream or 
body of water on which ice forms every year. 
Ice and high water show no favors, and many a 
man has returned to his summer home the follow- 
ing year only to find his boathouse tilted up at 
one corner and down at the other and the position 
of the front piers changed so that the doors to 
the slip cannot be opened. The weakest point of 
the foundation of the boathouse, and at the same 
time the one most open to the attack of the ice, 
is the forward line of piers separating the slips. 
These cannot be strung together with heavy cross- 
pieces, as is the case with those supporting the 
floor, and in consequence the ice is liable to move 
the forward piers independently of the boathouse. 

To provide against this, the end piers should 



THE BOATHOUSE 187 

be tied together when the boathouse Is closed for 
the winter, and this is best done by the use of two 
heavy rods joined at the ends by means of a turn- 
buckle. The outer ends of the rods should be in 
the form of hooks which are to fit into eyes 
screwed into the heavy timbers of each pier. 
The eyes should have been so placed that the tie 
rod will come about level with the surface of the 
water, and after this has been hooked in place, it 
should be tightened with the turn-buckle. If 
such a rod is placed across the end of each slip, 
the piers cannot move away from each other and 
the boathouse will be found in much better shape 
than would be the case were the ice and high wa- 
ter allowed to have full sway. 

Notwithstanding the damage that may result 
if care is not taken, it may be said that every mo- 
tor boat should be hauled out of the water at least 
once each year, even though it is desired to use 
the craft throughout the whole twelve months. 
On northern waters, where the Severe winters 
form ice that would be almost certain to crush or 
scratch the hull of a comparatively small boat, 
the reason for hauling the craft out of the reach 
of harm from this source is apparent; and any- 
one who has seen large piers or boathouses twisted 
or moved bodily from their foundations will real- 
ize the small chance that a frail hull would have of 



188 THE MOTOR BOAT 

withstanding this tremendous force of the frozen 
water. But every boat, whether used in waters 
where ice is to be reckoned with or not, requires 
painting on the under-water portions of the hull 
at least once or twice a year; and in tropical or 
semitropical streams where barnacles and marine 
growth are more abundant, it may be found neces- 
sary to haul the craft out of water once every two 
or three months in order to obtain the best results. 

Were the hull not painted, the wood of which 
at is composed would soon become water-soaked 
and practically useless. The paint, then, serves 
to prevent the water from entering the porous 
fibers of the wood, and keeps the hull dry and at 
its minimum weight. The length of life of paint 
on wood under water is not great, however, and 
while some of the largest steamers and sailboats 
may not seek the dry dock for several years, this 
is because of the expense, labor, and time re- 
quired for such an operation, and a light motor 
boat that can be hauled out of water in a few 
hours, or minutes, has no excuse for remaining 
unpainted any longer than is necessary. 

It is due to these three reasons, then — danger 
from ice, the necessity for painting, and the fact 
that the longer the hull is left in the water the 
more water will it absorb — that the average motor 
boat should be hauled out high and dry for its 



THE BOATHOUSE 189 

winter's rest. If the boat is a light affair, such 
as a motor canoe or skiff, it may be lifted out of 
the water and set on sawhorses. Several sticks 
nailed to the floor and wedged under the gunwales 
at each side will serve to keep the boat from tip- 
ping over, and are as effective for this work as 
the more elaborate bilge blocks. If the floor 
space of the boathouse is desired for other pur- 
poses, the boat may be suspended from the rafters 
by means of several ropes passed entirely around 
the hull. One of these should be placed under the 
motor, and the greatest weight should rest here 
in order to prevent the keel from sagging. Such 
a method of leaving a small motor boat for the 
winter, however, is hardly advisable, as the ropes 
are liable to slip a little or stretch, and thus 
change the distribution of the weight and allow 
the strain to come on some vital part of the hull. 
Larger boats should be raised from the slip 
cut for their accommodation in the boathouse 
floor. If the boathouse is well equipped, it is 
probable that the slip will be provided with two 
or three sets of vertical screws, to the lower ends 
of each pair of which are attached heavy timbers 
which will be raised as the nuts on the screws are 
turned. A powerful lifting force can be obtained 
in this manner, and the boat can be raised care- 
fully and easily to the desired distance above the 



190 THE MOTOR BOAT 

water. If the height of the water remains con- 
stant throughout the winter, or recedes slightly, 
the boat need be raised only until the keel is a 
few inches above the surface. In fact, it would 
be better to leave the keel and extreme bottom of 
the hull submerged until freezing weather settles 
down, but this, of course, can only be done if there 
is a man near at hand who can be trusted to raise 
the boat high and dry as soon as winter makes its 
appearance. 

The screws should be so spaced that the weight 
of the motor of the boat will come directly over 
one of the timbers. In raiding the craft, the tim- 
ber carrying this greatest weight should be kept 
slightly in advance of the other screws so that it 
may be certain that an unsupported keel is not 
carrying the entire weight of the motor. When 
the boat has been raised to the desired height, the 
other timbers may be screwed up to a position 
that will perceptibly relieve the weight on the first 
screw, but this latter should still be carrying the 
greatest part of the load, so that there can be no 
possibility that the weight of the motor will cause 
the keel to sag. 

If the boathouse slip is not equipped with these 
screws and timbers, the differential pulley may be 
of use in raising the boat out of water. Two 
heavy timbers to which the pulley may be attached 



THE BOATHOUSE 191 

should be erected over the bow and stern of the 
boat and supported by stout uprights. If the 
floor of the boathouse Is not too high above the 
surface of the water, the stern may be raised 
first, a long timber placed under the keel with 
its ends resting on the floor at either side of the 
slip, and this half of the hull may be kept out of 
water while the pulley Is changed to the bow end. 
Another timber placed across the slip under the 
bow, and a third amidships, should furnish ample 
support for any boat up to thirty-five feet In 
length, and the craft will remain well above the 
reach of the water. 

A couple of large, one-piece bilge blocks, cut 
to fit the curvature of the sides of the hull at the 
points at which they would be used for support, 
will be found to be much more satisfactory than 
the odds and ends of timber generally used. If 
the patterns from which the hull of the boat was 
constructed are available, it will be an easy mat- 
ter to obtain the exact curve of all parts of the 
hull and to select the proper shape for the por- 
tion at which It Is desired to use the bilge blocks. 
A heavy bilge block will need to be cut in sections, 
and after the proper curvature has been given to 
each part, the separate sections should be bolted 
together. The one-piece bilge blocks possess the 
advantage of fitting the curve of the hull exactly 



19a THE MOTOR BOAT 

at the point at which the support is desired, and 
consequently the planking will be saved many 
scratches and digs. In addition to this, they are 
much easier to handle, and are always ready. 

The fall is not the time for overhauling or re- 
pairing the motor or hull, as the long period of 
idleness following would render a thorough inspec- 
tion necessary in the spring — and probably half 
of the work would need to be done over again. 
Consequently, the object in "preparing the boat 
for its winter's rest " is to leave it in such shape 
that deterioration will not occur, and to reduce 
to a minimum the necessity for repairs in the 
spring. This being the case, there is very little 
that needs to be done to the motor or to the in- 
terior of the hull. The lockers should be opened 
and the covers of the seats removed to allow a cir- 
culation of air and to dry out the dampness that 
will have collected during the summer. 

While it is not probable that a few gallons of 
gasoline remaining in the tank would do any real 
harm, all fuel should be removed from the boat in 
order to make " assurance doubly sure." In ad- 
dition to this, in case of fire and there is any diffi- 
culty with the insurance companies, it is better 
to be able to furnish proof positive that not a 
drop of gasoline was left in the boat or boathouse. 
The coils should be left in a dry place, but it will 



THE BOATHOUSE 19$ 

be useless to try to save the dry batteries, no mat- 
ter how strong they may be, as they deteriorate so 
rapidly that they would be absolutely worthless 
for ignition purposes the next spring. 

If a storage battery is used, it should be " run 
down " and then charged to its full capacity, In 
which condition it should be left in some place 
where there is no possibility of the temperature 
dropping below the freezing point. It is not 
necessary to drain the oil out of the oil cups or 
crank case of the motor, but there should be no 
oily waste or rags left in the boat or boathouse. 
All unplated or unpainted iron or steel parts of 
the motor should be thoroughly covered with 
" dope," or cup grease, to prevent rust, and it 
would not be amiss to treat the exposed rudder 
chains or steel cable in the same manner. 

Although the boat Is supposed to be left in 
such a condition that the keel cannot be sprung 
out of line, a slight settling of one of the piers of 
the boathouse, or poor judgment on the part of 
the man who superintended the raising of the hull, 
may leave an uneven distribution of weight on the 
supporting timbers. For this reason, it is a good 
idea to uncouple the propeller shaft from the mo- 
tor and slide it back a few Inches so that it will 
be free to occupy any position made necessary by 
the jspringing of the keel. This precaution Is, of 



194 THE MOTOR BOAT 

course, unnecessary if a universal coupling is 
used between the shaft and the motor, but it 
should be done in every case in which the connec- 
tion is solid. 

The best way to haul up on shore is to use the 
old, familiar " ways," if the boat is too large to 
be lifted by five or six men. A light boat can, of 
course, be picked up and carried to the place pre- 
pared for it, but the heavier craft must be pulled 
up over the greased timbers by means of a wind- 
lass anchored to the shore. The ways consists 
merely of a track of heavy timbers, running from 
the point at which it is desired to store the boat 
out into the water to a sufficient depth so that the 
craft may be floated over the submerged ends. 

A framework designed to fit the bottom of the 
hull, is run out to the end of the ways, and the 
boat placed in position over it. This forms what 
is known as the ^* cradle," and with the keel of the 
boat resting on three or four heavy, supporting 
timbers of this framework, and with the " bilge 
blocks " placed in position to prevent tipping to 
either side, the craft may be pulled out high and 
dry, without any part coming into sliding con- 
tact with the timbers of the ways or cradle. The 
" bilge blocks " may be wooden blocks or the short 
ends of heavy timbers, built up to follow the 
cur^'-atur'e of thie side of the hull so that this strain 



THE BOATHOUSE 195 

of keeping the boat in an upright position will 
be distributed along several vertical sections of 
the bottom. 

When the boat has been hauled up to its final 
position it should be supported by extra timbers 
under its keel and at the sides, and every precau- 
tion taken to render it damage-proof against the 
highest gales that blow. The craft should then 
be covered entirely with a protection of some sort 
to keep out the rain or snow. Even though the 
boat is of the cabin variety, and the interior can 
be closed tightly by means of the hatchways and 
ports, or windows, it is advisable to board over 
the entire hull, decks, and cabin. Many men will 
merely stretch a canvas over the cockpit to keep 
the water from the inside, but the decks and ex- 
terior of the hull can be injured by ice, rain, and 
a hot sun almost as easily as can the interior. 
While it is not absolutely necessary to cover every 
portion of the hull, wet weather, followed by the 
hot sun of the Indian summer or early spring, may 
serve to dry out the planking or open up the 
seams, and consequently, if possible, it is ad- 
visable to inclose every part of the craft during 
the winter, even though considerable more time 
and labor wiU bfe required. 

One of tl^e easii&et w5ays to covter the btmt en* 
tirely h to Hoard ii in Wilh rSxigh planks, and oVer 



196 THE MOTOR BOAT 

these to nail tarred paper. This should eifectu- 
ally serve to keep out both the sun and rain, and 
the boards, after having once been sawed to the 
proper length, will be available for use during 
successive winters. A framework, over which is 
stretched waterproof canvas, is sometimes used, 
and is effective if the '* ridgepole " is placed at a 
sufficient distance above the deck to slant the roof 
enotigh to allow all water to run off easily. It is 
probable, however, that this canvas would cost 
almost as much as the rough boards, and the re- 
sulting covering is not as substantial as the one 
first described. 

A boat which has been properly stored for the 
winter will last three times as long and will re- 
quire but one half the attention in the spring as 
will a craft that is carelessly hauled up and left 
but scantily protected from the ice, rain, and 
sun. Remember that every hour spent in care- 
fully laying up the boat means the saving of at 
least two hours in the spring, as well as a smaller 
bill for repairs and supplies when *' fitting out 
time " comes. 



GLOSSARY 

Acetylene — The gas generated by the action of 
water on calcium carbide. Largely used 
for illuminating purposes on motor boats 
and automobiles. 

Ampere — The electrical measure of current quan- 
tity. 

Anneal — A heat-treating process given to iron 
and steel in order to obtain a uniform 
strcture of material. 

Apeon — The front curtain of an automobile type 
of top. 

AuTO-BoAT — A name sometimes given to that type 
of motor-boat having its power plant lo- 
cated under the forward deck. 

Axis — The imaginary line about which a body 
may be revolved. 

Babbit — A white composition metal, easily 
melted, that is frequently used for bear- 
ings. 

Back-fiee — An explosion that takes place in a 

gasoline engine when the valves or ports 

are still open. Instead of confining this 

explosion in the cylinder, the gases are 

197 



198 THE MOTOR BOAT 

blown through the carburetor or into the 
crank case. 

Base — That portion of the motor to which the 
cylinders are bolted. Sometimes used as 
synonymous with crank case. 

Batteky (Dry) — A chemical electric current 
generator in which no liquids of any sort 
are used. 

Battery (Storage) — A cell in which electric cur- 
rent can be stored to be used at will. 

Beam — The measurement of a hull from side to 
side taken at its widest point. 

Bearing — The metal parts in which a shaft or 
crank turns. 

Bed— The foundation (generally of wood) on 
which the engine is installed. 

Bilge Block — Blocks placed against the plank- 
ing to support the hull when it is out of 
water. 

Bilge Pump— A pump for removing the water 
from the bottom of a boat. 

Bore — The measurement of the diameter of the 
inside of the cylinder. Also, approxi- 
mately, the diameter of the top of the pis- 
ton. 

Bow — The extreme forward portion of a boat. 
As an adjective, it signifies anything for- 
ward of the amidship section. 



GLOSSARY 199 

BaoNZE — ^A copper alloy used as a material for 
gears, bushings and bearings. 

Bucket — A term generally applied to the remov- 
able blade of a reversible propeller. 

Bushing — A metal sleeve inserted as a lining in a 
bearing to take up wear. 

Cam — An irregularly-shaped or slotted piece of 
metal used to convert rotary motion into 
lateral movement. Used in four-cycle 
motors for lifting the valves. 

Capstan — A form of windlass, or winch, used 
for raising the anchor. 

Carbide (Calcium Carbide) — The chemical used 
in the generation of acetylene gas. 

Carbon — One of the chemical elements appearing 
in a variety of forms. Soot is practically 
pure carbon, as is also the hardened resi- 
due from the lubricating oil found in en- 
gine cylinders. 

Carburetor — The device for mixing with the 
gasoline vapor the proper quantity of air 
for producing an easily-ignited charge in 
the cylinder. 

Caulk — To wedge the seams, or cracks, between 
the planking of a boat. 

Cell — A battery of either the dry, wet, or stor- 
age type. 

Cleat — A metal or wooden piece having projec- 



SOO THE MOTOR BOAT 

tions around which a line may be made 
fast. 

Clutch — ^A connection for transmitting power 
from one revolving shaft to another. 

Clutch (Reverse) — ^An attachment by means of 
which the propeller may be turned back- 
ward while the motor is still revolving in 
its forward direction. 

Cock — ^A valve which may be opened or closed at 
will. Usually provided between the inte- 
rior of the cylinder and the outside air 
for the purpose of relieving compression 
in the cylinder. 

Cockpit — The open space or unenclosed portion 
of a boat. 

Coil — The electrical instrument by means of 
which the low voltage of the batteries is 
raised to the high voltage necessary for 
the formation of the spark. 

CoMPEESSioN — The resistance offered to the up- 
ward movement of the piston when all 
openings are closed. In order to obtain 
the full value from the ignition of the 
charge, the mixture must first be com- 
pressed. 

Connecting Rod — ^The metal rod attached at 
one end to the piston and at the other to 
the crank. The means of transforming 



GLOSSARY SOI 

reciprocating motion into rotary move- 
ment. 

Contact Point — The small platinum pieces used 
on a coil and between which the vibrator 
operates as it alternately makes and 
breaks the circuit. 

Countersink — To enlarge one portion of a hole 
in order to allow a bolt, screw head, or 
the like to set in flush with the surface. 

Coupling — A positive connection between two 
shafts. 

Coaming — ^A strip of wood surrounding the cock- 
pit and raised above the deck. 

Ceib — Interlacing timbers loaded with stone and 
used to form a pier. 

Cradle — A framework for supporting a boat 
when out of water. 

Cruiser — A type of motor boat having the for- 
ward portion of the cockpit enclosed in a 
cabin, and provided with berths and a 
galley. 

Crank Shaft — ^The shaft containing the cranks 
to which the pistons of the motor are con- 
nected. 

Cylinder — ^The main portion of the motor. The 
casting in which the piston moves up and 
down. 

Cycle — A round of events. In the gasoline mo- 



«02 THE MOTOR BOAT 

tor, it is the operations that take place 
between one ignition of the charge and the 
next. 

Dead-Centee — The top and bottom positions of 
a crank. Or, when the crank makes a 
straight line with the connecting rod. Un- 
der these conditions, the crank cannot be 
turned by the piston in question. 

Deck — The roofed-over or covered portion of a 
hull. All that portion of the top of the 
hull not included in the cockpit or the 
cabin. 

Differential Pulley — ^A self-locking hoist 
operated by chains and three pulleys of 
different sizes. 

Electrodes — The metal terminations or points 
between which the current flows. In an 
ignition plug, they are the points between 
which the spark jumps. 

Emery Cloth (or Paper) — A sheet over which a 
preparation of finely powdered emery has 
been spread. Used on metal in the same 
manner as sandpaper is used on wood. 

Exhaust — The gases discharged from the cylin- 
der after ignition has taken place. 

Four Cycle — The type of motor in which the ad- 
mission of the charge and expulsion of the 
exhaust gases are controlled by valves and 



GLOSSARY ^08 

in which four strokes, or two revolutions, 
are required between each explosion in 
each cylinder. 

Fantail — A type of stern used on many sail and 
steam craft. In such a boat, the deck 
length is greater than the waterline length, 
for the stern deck projects far over the 
water. 

Galley — The kitchen of a cruiser, ship, or yacht. 

Gasket — A packing or lining placed between two 
adjoining parts to render the joint gas 
or water-tight. 

Grommets — Brass eyes sewed into a canvas in 
order that it may be hooked in place. 

Gunwale — The upper side " edges " of the hull. 

Hanger — The underwater support for the stern 
end of the propeller shaft. 

Hatch — An opening in the roof or top of a boat: 
to allow headroom when entering or leav- 
ing the cabin or cockpit. 

Hold — The space in a hull between the bottom 
and the lower deck. 

Horsepower — The power required to raise 33,- 
000 pounds one foot in one minute. Or, 
the power required to raise one pound 33,- 
000 feet in one minute. 

HuLL—The boat exclusive of cabin, machinery, 
or furnishings. The " part that floats." 



^04 THE MOTOR BOAT 

Hydeoplane — A racing type of boat which, by 
its shape, is designed to skim over the 
water instead of through it. 

Inboaed — Applies to anything used inside the 
hull. 

Jacket — The hollow space surrounding the cyl- 
inder walls in which the cooling water cir- 
culates. 

Joint — The point of contact between two sepa- 
rate parts. 

Keel — The heavy timber running throughout the 
length of the bottom of the hull which 
forms the " backbone " of the boat. 

Kilowatt— -A measure of electrical energy. One 
thousand watts. 

Knockdown — Term applied to a boat that is so 
constructed that it may be easily taken 
apart and assembled. 

Lag Sceew — ^A heavy screw with a square head 
used for holding timbers together. 

Laeboaed — Nearly obsolete term for the port, or 
left-hand side, of a boat. 

Lee — The side of a shore, boat, building, or the 
like protected from the wind. 

Log — The piece surrounding the shaft at the 
point where it pierces the keel. It is used 
to form a water-tight joint in the hull at 
this point. 



GLOSSARY 205 

Manifold — The casting in which several pipes 
unite in a common outlet, 

'Midship — Contraction for Amidship. The mid- 
dle portion of the boat. 

MiXTUEE — Term usually applied to the combus- 
tible charge after it has left the carbu- 
retor. 

Muffler — A cylinder into which the exhaust 
gases are introduced and allowed to ex- 
pand in order to reduce the noise of the 
explosion. 

Needle- Valve — The small valve in a carburetor 
that regulates the amount of gasoline ad- 
mitted to the intake pipe. 

Neutbal — The position of a reverse clutch or 
the blades of a propeller at which neither 
forward nor backward motion will be com- 
municated to the boat. 

One-Man Control — System by which one per- 
son may steer boat, run motor, and oper- 
ate reverse. 

Outboard — Applies to any part of boat used 
outside of the hull. 

Packing — Material placed between two adjoin- 
ing surfaces in order to form a tight 
joint. 

Patterns — Forms by which the correct shape of 
a certain design of boat may be obtained. 



THE MOTOR BOAT 

Periphery — The surface of a wheel at the great- 
est distance from its center. 

Pitch — The distance that a propeller would 
travel in a straight line during one com- 
plete revolution if there were no " give," 
or slip. This distance is measured along 
the axis about which the propeller turns. 

Piston — The portion of the motor that fits the 
cylinder and moves up and down within it 
as the gas is exploded. 

Piston Ring — A springy ring surrounding the 
piston and used to obtain a tight joint as 
the piston moves. There are generally 
four rings on each piston. 

Planking — The boards that cover the ribs of the 
boat and constitute the outside of the hull. 

Plunger — The piston of a pump. 

Poles — The two portions of a battery from 
which the current is taken. 

Poet — The opening in the cylinder wall through 
which the gases are admitted and ex- 
pelled. In a two-cycle motor, ports take 
the place of valves. 
Also, the left-hand side of a boat. 

Port (Two-) — A type of two-cycle motor in 
which the charge is sucked into the cylin- 
dler directly from the carburetoir and in- 
take pipfe. 



GLOSSARY aOT 

Poet (Three-) — A tjpe of two-cycle motor in 
which the charge is first sucked into the 
base and is there compressed before its 
admission to the cylinder. 

Peopeller — A metal wheel having two, three, or 
more blades set at an angle to its axis. 
When this is revolved under water on the 
end of a shaft, the boat is propelled for- 
wards or backwards, depending upon the 
direction of rotation. 

Ratchet — A toothed wheel and " dog " which en- 
able rotary motion to be transmitted in 
only one direction. 

Rating — A result obtained by a mathematical 
computation of measurements which is 
used as a basis of handicapping boats in 
speed contests. 

Register — To set one hole or opening so that 
its outlines coincide exactly with those of 
the same-shaped opening adjoining it. 

Ribs— Bent pieces of wood attached to the keel 
and to which the planking is nailed. The 
ribs and keel form the " skeleton " of a 
hull. 

Rings— See piston. 

Shim — Small pieces of sheet metal or composi- 
tion placed between two halves of a bear- 
ing so that the pifessurfe xrpm tlife shaft 



208 THE MOTOR BOAT 

will not be too great. Also placed between 
the lugs of an engine base and its bed in 
order to hold the motor in the proper 
position so that it will line up with its 
shaft. 

Shoal — A submerged sandbar or rock dangerous 
to navigation. 

Skag — A rigid metal bar attached to the keel 
and extending under the propeller to pro- 
tect the latter from shoals and other ob- 
stacles. 

Skiff — A round-bottom rowboat having pointed 
bow and stern. 

Sleeve^ — A tube surrounding part of a shaft 
which can be moved or revolved independ- 
ently of the latter. 

Slip — An opening cut in the floor of a boat-house 
for the accommodation of one or more 
craft. 

Spark — The hot flame of electric current used 
in the cylinder to ignite the charge of gas 
from the carburetor. 

Spontaneous Combustion — Heat generated by 
chemical action in a closed space. The 
cause of many " mysterious " motor boat 
fires. 

Stanchion— The wooden or metal supports for 
a canopy top or overhead deck. 



GLOSSARY «09 

Staeboaed — The right-hand side of a boat. 

Staeve — To reduce the gasoline or mixture sup- 
plied to a motor to the extent that irreg- 
ular running results. 

Step-Up (Transformer) — ^The type of coil used 
on gasoline engines. This increases the 
original voltage and reduces the original 
amperage a proportionate amount. 

Steen — The extreme rear of a boat. As an ad- 
jective, used to signify any part that is 
aft of the 'midship portion. 

Steoke — The length of piston travel in a con- 
tinuous direction. Or, twice the length 
of the crank to which the connecting rod 
is attached. 

Tap-— To cut threads in a hole drilled in a piece 
of metal. 

Teak — A kind of wood sometimes used in the 
construction of hulls and engine beds. 

Tendee — A small boat usually towed behind a 
larger craft. Sometimes the tender is 
carried on top of the large boat, or is 
slung from davits at the side. 

TiLLEE — The cross-piece attached to the rudder 
post that is used to turn the rudder. The 
cables, chains, or ropes that pass around 
the steering wheel are attached to the end 
of the tiller. 



\ 



210 THE MOTOR BOAT 

Timer — The device by means of which the mo- 
ment of the formation of the spark is 
regulated. 

Theee-Poet — See Port. 

Theottle — The valve by means of which the 
amount of mixture admitted to the cylin- 
der may be regulated. 

ToEPEDO — A form of stern that projects beyond 
the deck line. The torpedo stern is the 
opposite of the fantail stern in that the 
waterline length of the former is the great- 
est measurement of the boat. 

Teansfoemee — Ordinarily termed the coil. The 
device used to increase the voltage of the 
batteries to an amount sufficient to form 
the necessary spark. 

'Tween-Deck — The enclosed portion of the hull 
between the deck and the keel. 

Two-Cycle — The type of motor in which the 
explosion occurs in each cylinder at each 
revolution. 

Two-Poet — See Port. 

Univeesal Joint — A coupling that enables the 
two shafts connected by it to revolve at 
different angles. 

V-Teansom (Stern) — A form of stern having a 
V-shapcd plan. 

Valve — A device for controlling the admission or 



GLOSSARY 211 

flow of a gas or liquid. In four-cycle 
engine practice, the valves are used to 
control the admission of the charge and 
the expulsion of the exhaust gases to and 
from the cylinder. 

ViBEATOR — A piece of spring steel used on the 
top of a coil to make and break the cur- 
rent alternately in order to obtain the 
" surging " necessary to the increase in 
voltage. 

Volt — -A unit of electrical measurement. It rep- 
resents the pressure or force of the cur- 
rent as it flows from one pole to the other. 

Wastje — A loose, stringy, cotton material useful 
for wiping and cleaning parts of a motor 
and boat. 

Watt— A unit of electrical energy. The num- 
ber of watts delivered by a generator is the 
product obtained by multiplying the am- 
peres by the volts. 

Ways — The inclined track on which a boat is 
drawn when it is hauled from the water. 

Wheel — A term often applied to the propeller 
of a boat. 

Windwaed — The side of a boat, shore, building, 
or the like against which the wind blows. 

THE END 



I 



INDEX 



Acetylene Generator, 

126-7 
Anchor 

Advantages of, 124-5, 

156 
Folding, 157 
Used to Replace Ten- 
der, 158 
Auto Boat 

Description of, 13 
Cost of, 13 
Automobile Engine 
Comparison with 
Marine Motor, 30-1 
Auxiliary Power 

Accessibility of, 104-5 
Covering for, 105 
Installing, 100-109 
Location of, 103 
Proper size of, 104 
Speed attained from, 
101 
Backfiring, 79 
Battery Box 

Waterproof, 131 
Battery 

Care of Storage, 193 
Deterioration of Dry, 
198 



Tester, 35 

Trouble with, 35 
Beam of Boat 

Effect of changing, 53 

Proportion of length 
to, 5S 
Bearing 

Babbit, 78 

Bronze, 78 

Effect of worn, 78 
Bed (Engine) 

Necessity of solid, 85 

How made, 86-9 

(Sleeping) ; how to 
make for cruising, 
168-70 
Bilge Blocks, 191-194 

Pump; automatic, 128 
Blade 

Effect of changing size 
of propeller, 57 

Extra, 170 

Removable, 118 
Boat House 

Arrangement of slips 
in, 181 

Floating, 176 
Camping 

Motor canoe for, 151 

25-foot boat for, ISS 



212 



INDEX 



213 



Canoe 

How to convert into 

power craft, 91 
Proper power for, 8, 

152 
Speed of, 8 
Canopy Tops, 139, 150 

Danger from, 150 
Capstan, 159 
Carbon 

How removed, 67-8 
Carburetor 

Description of, 32 
Loss of power from, 
79 
Cat Boat 

Converted into power 
craft, 55, 88 ^ 
Celluloid Windows, 

143, 165 
Charts, 159 
Clutch 

Reverse, 116 
Coil 

Adjustment of, 35 
Symptoms of trouble 

with, 34-5 
Waterproofing, 131 
Compression 

How much, 64-5 
Loss of, QQ, 72 
Connections 

Symptoms of broken, 
34 
Covering for Auxiliary 
Power, 105 



Covers 

Removable canvas 

136-7 
Cradle, 194 
Crank Case Explosion, 

39, 76 
Cribs, 175 
Cruiser 
Cost of, 16 
Description of, 16 
Curtains for Cruising, 

165 
Cushions used as Life 

Preservers, 111 
Dampness 

Effect of on ignition 

system, 43 
Protecting auxiliary 

power from, 105 
Protecting ignition 
system from, 43, 99 
Differential Pulley, 

161, 190 
Dredge 

Motor boat used as, 24 
Exhaust 

Piping for in auxiliary 
power, 106 
Fenders 

Use of in camping, 162 
Fitting out Boat for 

Camping, 162 
Fire 

Danger from, 109 
Four-Cycle Motors 
When used, 15, 84 
Gaskets (see packing) 



214 



INDEX 



Gasoline Failure 

Symptoms of, 34 
Hauling Out 

Large boat, 189 

On shore, 194 
, Reasons for, 187 

Small boat, 187 
Heat 

Too much of in cyl- 
inder, 41 

For the cruiser, 170 
Hemlock 

Used in engine bed, 87 
Horn 

Electric, 114 
House-Boating 

Use of motor boat for, 
28 
Hull 

How supported when 
out of water, 191 

Proper shape of, 51-4 
Hydroplane 

Principles of, 52-$ 
Ice 

Protecting the boat 
house from, 186-8 
Keel 

How supported, 190 

Liability to be sprung, 
190 ' 
Knock-Down Hulls, 1 1 
Lean-to for Housing 

Boat, 177 
Length op Boat 

Effect of increasing, 58 



Proportion of to beam, 
53 
Life Preservers, 111 
Lighting Outfits, 126 
Lights 

How to make guards 
for, 112 
Lining up the Motor, 

93-4 
Log 

How made for con- 
verted craft, 94-5 
Melon Hood, 145 
Missing (explosions) 

Reasons for, 79 
Mixture 

Causes of trouble with, 

32, 38 
Composition of, 32 
How to remedy weak, 
33 
Motors 

Detachable, 152 
Effect of change in 

location of, 55 
Sizes for different con- 
ditions, 14, 84, 104 
Muffler 

Best location for, 98 
Needle-Valve 

Adjustment of, 32-3 
Packing 

Asbestos, 73 
For crank case, 76 
Cutting to proper 
shape, 74 



INDEX 



ai5 



Replacing worn or 

blown-out, 74< 
Rubber, 73 
Simplest form of, 73 
Painting 

Necessity for, 188 
Pier 

How to make, 175 
Pine 

Used in engine bed, 87 
Piston 

Device for replacing, 

71-2 
How fitted and ground, 

70 
How cleaned and re- 
moved, 67-8 
How tested for fit, 69 
Rings; reasons for, QQ 
Why not tight fit, QQ 
Pitch 

Effect of change of, 

56-7 
What it is, 56-7, 117- 
18 
Power 

Effect of too much, 

49-50 
Loss of, 64, 75, 80 
Pounding in Cylinder 

Causes of, 40-41 
Propeller 

Advantages of solid, 

118 
How to change when 

cruising, 160 
Importance of proper, 
5Q 



Proper location of, 59 

Reverse, 116 
Racing 

Of motor, 119 

Handicaps, 26-7 

One-design, 25 

Small boats, 25 
Ready-Made Motor 

Boats, 8 
Reverse Clutch, 116-18 

Propeller, 116 

Gear; reasons for, 116 
Reversing Motor 

How done, 37 
Rings (Piston), QQ 
Runabout 

Cheapest type of boat, 
7 
Salt Water 

Difference of speed in, 
60 
Scow 

Use of, 23 
Screws for Hauling 

OUT Boat, 189 
Shelter (canvas) 

How to make, 172 
Signal Masts 

Accommodations for 

boats with, 183 
Skag 

When needed, 97 
Skiff 

How converted into 
power craft, 91 

Cost of, 7 

Proper power for, 7 



S16 



INDEX 



Sleeping in an Open 

Boat, 167 
Slips 

Boat house, 180-6 
Sound of Motor 

How to tell trouble by, 
38-40 
Speed 

Effect of power on, 
49-50 
Speedometer (Marine), 

131 
Spray Cloth 

How to make, 138 
Starving (Motor) 

Cause of, 79 
Steel Hulls, 9 
Steering Wheels 

Arrangement of, 122-3 
Stern 

Drawing down ; pre- 
vention of, 52-4 

Fantail, 92 

V-transom, 17, 54 
Stove for Cruising 

How protected, 170 
Stowing Camp Uten- 
sils, 154 
Stuffing Box 

Use of on log, 95 
Tanks 

Airtight, 9 

Fuel; size of, 97 

Location of, 97, 107 

Material of, 98 
Teak 

Used in engine bed, 87 
Tender 

Uses of, 154 



Time 

Trial race, 26-7 
Tools 

Special, 132-33 
Top 

Stationary canopy, 144 

Removable, 144 

Automobile, 164, 142 
Towing, 51 

Load pulled by motor 
boat, 23-4 

One or more skiffs and 
canoes, 155 
Trouble 

How to trace, 44-5 
Twin-Screws, 108 
Two-Cycle Motors 

When used, 14, 84 
V-Transom Stern, 1 7, 

54 
Ventilation 

Necessity of to prevent 
fire, 109 

When cruising, 166-68 
Waterproofing 

Propeller shaft log, 95 

Wires of ignition sys- 
tem, 43-4 
Ways 

Use of for hauling out, 
194 
Whistles 

Kinds of, 112-13 

Necessity for loud, 112 
AVood 

Kinds of for engine 
bed, 86 
Wrenches, 132-3 



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expect to be ill but believes in being on the safe side. Com- 
mon-sense methods for the treatment of the ordinary wounds 
and accidents are described — setting a broken limb, reducing 
a dislocation, caring for burns, cuts, etc. Practical remedies 
for camp diseases are recommended, as well as the ordinary 
indications of the most probable ailments. Includes a list of 
the necessary medical and surgical supplies. 

The manager of a mine in Nome, Alaska, writes a§ 
follows: "I have been on the trail for yea/rs (ttcelve 
in the Klondike and Alaska) and have always wanted 
just such a hook as Dr. Moody's Backwoods Surgery 
^md Medicine." 



Outing Handbooks 



The Beagle. In this book emphasis will be laid on the use of 
the beagle in the hunting field rather than in the show ring. 
It is designed for the man who wishes to keep a small pack 
for his own enjoyment rather than for the large kennel owner. 
Simple remedies are prescribed and suggestions are given 
as to the best type for the purposes of purchase or breeding. 

Boat and Canoe Building. Edited by Horace Kephart. It is not 
a difficult matter to build a boat or a canoe yourself. All that 
is necessary is to bring together knowledge, manual dexterity, 
and the proper material. The material can be secured almost 
anywhere at little expense. The manual dexterity will come 
with practice and this book furnishes the knowledge. All 
types of the smaller boats and canoes are dealt with and 
suggestions are given as to the building and equipping ofl 
the smaller sail boats. 

Camp Cookery. By Horace Kephart. *'The less a man carries In 
his pack, the more he must carry in his head," says Mr. Kep- 
hart. This book tells what a man should carry in both pack 
and head. Every step is traced — the selection of provisions 
and utensils, with the kind and quantity of each, the prep- 
aration of game, the building of fires the cooking of every 
conceivable kind of food that the camp outfit or woods, fields, 
or streams may provide — even to the making of desserts. 
Every precept is the result of hard practice and long experience. 
Every recipe has been carefully tested. It is the book for the 
man who wants to dine well and wholesomely, but in true 
wilderness fashion without reliance on grocery stores or elab- 
orate camp outfits. It is adapted equally well to th© trips of 
every length and to all conditions of climate, season or coun- 
try; the best possible companion for one who wants to travel 
light and live well. 

The chapter headings tell their own story: 
Provisions. — ^Utensils. — Fires. — Dressing and Keeping Game and 
Fish. — Meat. — Game. — Fish and Shellfish. — Cured Meats, etc. — 
Eggs. — Breadstuffs and Cereals. — Vegetables. — Soups. — Bever- 
ages and Desserts. 

"Scores of new hints map le obtained "by the house- 

"keeper as well as the camper from Camp Cookery." 

— Portland Oregonian. 

"I am inclined to thing that the advice contained 

in Mr. Kephart's hook is to be relied on. I had to 

stop reading his recipes for cooking wild fowl— they 

made me hungry." — New York Herald. 

"The most useful and valuable book to the camper 

yet published," — Grand Rapids Herald. 

"Camp Cookery is destined to be in the Mt of every 

tent dioeller in the country." 

— Edioin Markham in the San Francisco Examiner, 

ExercFse and Health. By Dr. Woods Hutchinson. Dr. Hutchin- 
son takes the common-sense view that the greatest problem 
in exercise for most of us is to get enough of the right kind. 
The greatest error in exercise is not to take enough, and the 
greatest danger in athletics is in giving them up. The 
Chapter heads are illuminating: Errors in Exercise.— Exercise 
and the Heart. — Muscle Maketh Man. — The Danger of Stop- 
ping Athletics.—Exercise that Rests. It is written in a direct 
matter-of-fact manner with an avoidance of medical terms, 
and a strong emphasis on the rational, all-round manner of 
living that is best calculated to bring a man to a ripe old 
age with little illness or consciousness of bodily weakness. 



Outing Handbooks 



Farm Drainage and Irrigation. One of the most serious farm 
•problems is that connected with water, either its lack or Us 
too great abundance. This book gives the simple proved 
facts as to the best methods for taking water off the land or 
bringing it on. It shows the farmer how to bring his swamps 
into cultivation without converting them into sun-dried wastes. 
Also how the sandy stretches may be kept moist and bearing 
through even the driest summer. A knowledge of these simple 
facts will relieve the farmer from the haunting fear of 
drought or the long rains that sometimes blight the spring 
in Northern and Eastern latitudes. 

The Farmer's Bees. The keeping of bees is neither a difficult nor 
expensive matter, nor is it one in which a little knowledge 
is necessarily a dangerous thing. However, there are a few 
elementary facts which could be well learnt, such, for ex- 
ample, as the handling of swarms and the provision of proper 
honey-making food and the care of the bees in winter. This 
book covers this elementary field in a logical and convincing 
manner. 

The Farmer's Bookkeeper. Half of the secret of success in farm- 
ing is knowing the real relation between income and expendi- 
ture. In no business is that so hard to find probably, as in 
farming. Mr. BufCum has presented a simple, common-sense 
method of farm accounting which he has used with great suc- 
cess for many years. It requires no elaborate knowledge of 
bookkeeping and is entirely reliable in showing the farmer 
where his business stands as a going concern. 

The Farmer's Cattle. In this volume the problem discussed is 
two-fold, one of breeding and the other of care. The breed is 
determined largely by the use to which the farmer wishes his 
cattle put, whether for dairy or beef purposes. Their care 
is afEected to a certain extent by the same consideration but 
not so largely. For the average farmer a combination of the 
two is usually most desirable, and it is in this light that this 
book discusses the problem. All of the information is de- 
signed to avoid unnecessary expense and to save the farmer 
from rushing into extreme and costly experiments or wasting 
his time on valueless mongrel strains. The care of calves 
is discussed in length, as also the stabling and feeding of 
milk cows and the feeding of the stock destined for the 
market. 

The Farmer's Hogs. It was once the boast of Illinois, then the 
biggest grain producing state of the Union, that 90 per cent, 
of the corn raised in that state was fed in the country of Its 
origin. Probably 70 per cent, of that amount was fed to hogs. 
That condition still holds in a large measure. Hence this book 
is designed to aid the practical farmer in selecting the best 
hogs for market purposes as well as for home use, and to 
advise him as to their care and feeding so as to insure a 
living profit on their cost and the cost of the grain necessary 
to feed them for market. 

The Farmer's Poultry. It is a proved fact that there is large 
(profit to be made from the raising of poultry but not by the 
amateur who rushes into it without knowledge or experience. 
In this book is given the fruit of many years experience of a 
man who has made poultry raising pay. The birds dealt with 
are not the expensive exotics of the poultry fancier but the 
practical varieties with records as good producers and a good 
name In the market. The reader is taught how to provide 
shelter for his poultry that shall keep them comfortable and 
safe from vermin of all kinds without involving the builder In 
prohibitive expense. The objective point is poultry as a by» 
product of the Farm that shall provide amply for the feirmer'i 
table with a margin for the market. 



Outing Handbooki 



The Farmer's Vegetable Garden. This Is designed especially for 
home growing with some reference, however, to the possibilities 
of market use of over supply. It gives the latest and best 
advice on the raising of the staple vegetables, such as potatoes, 
cabbages, beans, peas, turnips, and so forth. It also shows 
the farmer how, without material trouble or expense he may 
enrich his table with new varieties and lengthen the season 
of his garden's productiveness. It is a manual for the gardener 
who has only odd times to devote to his garden and Its 
advice is intended to enable him to use that time to the 
highest advantage. 

Farm Planning. It is a vexing problem with every practical 
farmer to get the greatest possible use out of his land with the 
least possible waste. A stony hillside is not suitable for the 
raising of wheat but it may furnish an excellent location for 
an orchard. A piece of swampy bottom land may not be 
ideal for barley but with proper drainage and cultivation it 
may be unexcelled for a vegetable garden. This book deals 
with just such problems and also with the placing of farm 
buildings, yards, and so forth, in order to make them fit in, 
so that the farm may be kept constantly at its highest pitch of 
usefulness. 

The Fine Art of Fishing. By Samuel G. Camp. Combines the 
pleasure of catching fish with the gratification of following the 
sport in the most approved manner. The suggestions offered 
are helpful to beginner and expert anglers. The range of 
fish and fishing conditions covered is wide and includes such 
subjects! as "Casting Fine and Far Off," "Strip-Casting for 
Bass," "Fishing for Mountain Trout," and "Autumn Fishing 
for Lake Trout." The book is pervaded with a spirit of love for 
the streamside and the out-doors generally which the genu- 
ine angler will appreciate. A companion book to "Fishing 
Kits and Equipment." The advice on outfitting so capably 
given in that book is supplemented in this later work by equally 
valuable information on how to use the equipment. 

Fishing Kits and Equipment. By Samuel G. Camp. A complete 
guide to the angler buying a new outfit. Every detail of fishing 
kit of the freshwater angler is described, from rodtip to creel 
and clothing. Special emphasis is laid on outfitting for fly 
fishing, but full instruction is also given to the man who 
wants to catch pickerel, pike, muskellunge, lake-trout, bass 
and other fresh-water game fishes. Prices are quoted for all 
articles recommended and the approved method of selecting 
and testing the various rods, lines, leaders, etc., is described. 

"A complete guide to the angler buying a new outfit/' 

— Peoria Herald. 

"The man advised hy Mr. Camp toill catch Ms fish/* 

^Seattle, P. I. 

"Even the seasoned angler will read this hook with 

profit/* — Chicago Tribune. 

The Horse, Its Breeding, Care and Use. By David Buffum. Mr. 
Buffum takes up the common, every-day problems of the 
ordinary horse-user, such as feeding, shoeing, simple home 
remedies, breaking and the cure for various equine vices. An 
Important chapter is that tracing the influx of Arabian blood 
into the English and American horses and its value and limi- 
tations. Chapters are included on draft-horses, carriage horses, 
and the development of the two-minute trotter. It is dis- 
tinctly a sensible book for the sensible man who wishes to 
know how he can improve his horses and his horsemanship 
at the same time. 



Outing Handbooks 



Intensive Farming. By L. C. Corbett. Th© problem as presented 
in this book is not so much that of producing results on a 
small scale because the land is no longer fertile enough to be 
handled in an expensive manner but rather one of producing 
a profit on high priced land, which is the real secret of in- 
tensive farming. This book will take up the question of the 
kind of crops, and method of planting and cultivation neces- 
sary to justify the high prices now being charged for farming 
land in many sections. Its publication marks the passing of 
the old style, wasteful farmer with his often destructive 
methods and the appearance of the new farming which means 
added farm profit and proper conservation of the soil's re- 
sources. 

Leather and Cloth Working. Edited by Horace Kephart. This 
book is designed to give competent instruction in the making 
of the outdoor paraphernalia into which leather and cloth enter, 
such as tents, sails, sleeping bags, knapsacks, blanket rolls, 
and so forth. It has the double advantage of reducing the 
cost of the equipment and nainimizing the risks of loss or 
accident when away from civilization. The cutting or patching 
of a sail or the repair of a sleeping bag may seem like a 
simple matter, but knowledge of how to do it may often spell 
the difference between safety and comfort or danger and a very 
high degree of discomfort. 

Making and Keeping Soils. By David Buffum. This is Intended 
for practical farmers, especially those who wish to operate on 
a comparatively small scale. The author gives the latest 
results as showing the possibility of bringing worn-out soil up 
to its highest point of productiveness and maintaining it there 
with the least possible expense. The problem of fertilization 
enters in as also that of crop rotation and the kind of crops 
best adapted to the different kinds of soil. 

The Motor Boat, Its Selection, Care and Use. By H. W. Slauson. 
The intending purchaser of a motor boat is advised as to the 
type of boat best suited to his particular needs, the power 
required for the desired speeds, and the equipment necessary 
for the varying uses. The care of the engines receives special 
attention and chapters are included on the use of the boat in 
camping and cruising expeditions, its care through the winter, 
and its efficiency in the summer. 

Outdoor Signalling. By Elbert Wells. Mr. Wells has perfected a 
method of signalling by means of wig-wag, light, smoke, or 
whistle which is as simple as it is effective. The funda- 
mental principle can be learnt in ten minutes and its applica- 
tion is far easier than that of any other code now in use. 
It permits also the use of cipher and can be adapted to almost 
any imaginable conditions of weather, light, or topography. 

Planning the Country House. The builder of a house in the 
country or in the suburbs is frequently forced to choose be- 
tween two extremes — his own ignorance or the conventional 
stereotyped designs of mediocre architects and builders. This 
book provides a solution by presenting a number of excellent 
plans by an expert architect of wide experience in country 
house building, together with a plain statement of the prob- 
lems which the builder must face, and the most suitable and 
advisable methods of solving them. A sufficient number of 
plans are presented for a liberal choice or to suggest the 
very house that th© reader has been looking for. 



Outing Handbooks 



Rustic Carpentry. Edited by Horace Kephart. Every year the 
number of dwellers in summer cottages of the smaller type 
increases and every year more and more people are giving 
attention to the beautifying of their own summer places with 
porch gates, fences, lawn seats, summer houses, and so forth. 
The country carpenter is not always available and frequently 
not dependable. This book answers the call for information 
as to how the owner of a summer house or summer cottage 
may be his own carpenter, building his own furniture, con- 
structing his own porches, adorning his place with attractive 
fences, seats and so forth. Incidentally it opens the door to 
a most attractive way of spending one's leisure hours on a 
summer vacation. 

The Setter. As the hunting dog "par excellence" the setter will 
only be treated with direct reference to his use before the guns, 
A practical method of putting a puppy through the necessary 
preliminary training before he takes the field, is described, as 
also the proper use of the broken dog in actual hunting or in 
field trials. As in our other dog books special attention will be 
given to the care of the dog in the kennels, type and qualities 
as affecting breeding, and simple remedies for the ordinary 
diseases. 

The Scottish and Irish Terriers. By Williams Haynes. These 
two breeds are included in one book because of their general 
similarity of type, habits and use. Both have been increasing 
in popularity greatly in recent years. This book responds to 
a widely felt need for a common-sense manual which shall de- 
scribe the breed, its noteworthy characteristics, points to be ob- 
served in selecting a dog, and the training of the dog after 
selection. Remedies for the ordinary diseases are described 
and advice given on the construction and eare of kennels in 
a comprehensive and feasible manner. 

Sheet Metal Working. Edited by Horace Kephart. Sheet metal 
enters into many of the articles that constitute an important 
part of the camper or canoeist's outfit such, for example, as 
baker's ovens, cups and pans, not to mention the numberless 
cans, boxes and cases which must find a place somewhere 
in the outdoor man's bags. This book teaches the reader how 
to obtain exactly the thing he wants because it teaches him 
how to make it himself. Also it is an excellent insurance 
against discomfort in the woods by its practical advice in the 
matter of rough and ready repair and refitting. 

ISportlng Firearms. By Horace Kephart, Mr. Kephart has done 
for the user of the shotgun, the rifle, or the revolver what he 
did for the camper and woods eruiser in "The Book of Camp- 
ing and Woodcraft." All three arms are dealt with from the 
standpoint of the every-day non-professional user, and com- 
mon-sense advice is given as to the makes, calibres, and types 
for the various uses. Even expert marksmen will find in this 
book possibilities of their favorite weapon suggested or de- 
scribed, of which they had not dreamt before. 

Tracks and Tracking. By Josef Brunner. After twenty years of 
patient study and practical experience, Mr. Brunner can, from 
his intimate knowledge, speak with authority on this subject: 
"Tracks and Tracking" shows how to follow intelligently even 
the most intricate animal or bird tracks. It teaches how to in- 
terpret tracks of wild game and decipher the many tell-tale 
signs of the chase that would otherwise pass unnoticed. It 
proves how it is possible to tell from the footprints the name, 
sex, speed, direction, whether and how wounded, and many 
other things about wild animals and birds, All material has 
been gathered first hand. 



Outing Handbooks 



Wing and Trap-Shooting. By Charles Asklna. The only practical 
manual In existence dealing with wing shooting with th« 
modern gun. It contains a full discussion of the various 
methods, such as snap-shooting, swing and half-swing, dis- 
cusses the flight of birds with reference to the gunner's 
problem of lead and range and makes special application of 
the various points to the different birds commonly shot in this 
country, A chapter is included on trap shooting and the book 
closes with a forceful and common-sense presentation of the 
etiquette of the iQeld. 



OUTING PUBLISHINQ>COMPANY 



HOM 3 ^^^ 



One copy del. to Cat. Div. 



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